Farmers protest over milk prices

MORE THAN 100 dairy farmers protested at the European Commission’s offices in Dublin yesterday as part of a campaign over milk prices.

Members of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) complained that the price farmers receive for milk had almost halved since 2007 and no longer covers production costs.

They said EU dairy policy had contributed to this situation, and alleged the financial pressure on farmers was inflicting long-term damage to Ireland’s industry and the wider agri-food sector.

“The EU has so comprehensively mismanaged the union’s dairy market that virtually all EU farmers are now producing milk at below-cost production,” said ICMSA president Jackie Cahill.

“In Ireland, as prices slip back to 23 cents per litre, we now have a situation where the costs of production are three cent higher than the price farmers receive.”

Yesterday’s protest sought to apply political pressure in advance of a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels next week.

Mr Cahill said: “For the first time . . . virtually all dairy farmers in Ireland will incur a loss . . . at the same time as they have invested . . . borrowed capital to comply with very stringent . . . regulations on the environment.”

Urging the commission not to abandon dairy supply-management, he said a deregulated market was not in the interests of farmers or consumers, as prices could fluctuate by as much as 100 per cent from year to year

“The EU must continue with supply-management, which simply means that production is managed to levels of demand for milk and dairy products. This has been the system for over 25 years. If there are increased market opportunities . . . then milk quota amounts can be expanded to meet this increasing demand.”