Ministers to debate milk contracts in March

IT will be March before EU agriculture ministers exchange views on proposed contracts in the milk products sector.

At their meeting this week, most ministers welcomed the commission’s proposal allowing farmers to jointly negotiate and establish contracts with dairy companies.

The proposal provides for optional written contracts to be drawn up in advance for deliveries of raw milk by a farmer to a dairy, which would include price, timing, volume (although a size limit is proposed), and duration of the contract.