Farm groups North and South meet to examine dairy package proposals

FARM groups in the North and in the Republic have met to examine aspects of Europe’s new dairy package which could mitigate against net exporters like Ireland.

IFA dairy vice-chairman Tom Phelan and executive secretary Catherine Lascurettes have met with MEP for the North, Jim Nicholson, the European Parliament rapporteur who is writing up the conclusions on the EU dairy legislation package (the Dairy Package) currently being proposed by the commission following from the recommendations of the 2009/10 High Level Group on Milk.

Mr Phelan said the IFA had impressed on Mr Nicholson that, while the package had many positive elements, it should not allow member states to re-nationalise their domestic markets to the detriment of exporting countries such as Ireland.

“As an export-dependent industry, we are concerned that a combination of measures in the Dairy Package could be used by some member states to militate against imports.”

He also said that the Dairy Package has nothing in it to secure a fair share for farmers in the retail chain, and that it kicks out to the CAP 2013 negotiations any commitment to provide necessary market instruments to mitigate damaging volatility in the dairy sector.

IFA national dairy chairman Kevin Kiersey said: “The Dairy Package aims at strengthening the bargaining power of milk producers through small concessions in competition law to allow for contract, price and condition negotiation rights. It rightly gives co-operatives — which have statutes offering guarantees equivalent to contracts to shareholder suppliers — special recognition, and allows member states to decide whether or not to make contracts compulsory between suppliers and processors.”

It is understood the Dairy Package could come into law in the second half of this year.