New milk powers outlined, but have been watered down - Lyon
December 9, 2010 12:46 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, has welcomed European action to strengthen the hand of milk producers in their fight for a fairer price for their product but has raised concerns that the proposals have been watered down by the Competition Commissioner.
George Lyon MEPCommissioner Ciolos has outlined plans that have been drawn up by the High Level Milk group following the collapse of European milk prices in 2008/09 to the European Parliament Agriculture committee.
The main proposals centre on changing competition rules to allow producer organisations control of up to 33% of the total milk volume in any one country and negotiate contracts with processors. The early drafts of the paper, which had suggested a figure of 49%, have now been watered down after concerns about competition issues.
It also gives Member States the right to introduce mandatory contracts between farmers and processors setting out the price, volume & timing of deliveries as well as the duration of the contract.
The new rules ensure greater transparency in the European milk market with compulsory reporting to the EU of daily volumes of milk delivered to processors.
Commenting, Mr Lyon said:
"While I welcome these proposals it is disappointing that they have been watered down by pressure from other Commissioners worried about competition issues.
"Never the less, this is an important first step in rebalancing the food chain to give milk producers a better chance of a decent milk price so they can earn a living.
"Milk producers complain bitterly that they are being ripped off by large multi-national retailers that have the buying power to drive down prices below the cost of production.
"Greater transparency and standard contracts could help farmers in the fight for a fair return. By coming together to form bigger groups it would give producers greater bargaining power in negotiating a better price.
"However, I have real concerns about the plans to give French and Spanish interbranch organisations more powers to control their home markets against imports. That can only lead to problems for small exporting countries like Scotland who need free access to European markets for our sheep-meat and beef exports.
"The committee will scrutinise these plans closely to make sure they really do deliver more power for milk producers."
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