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LV Dairy farming experts will seek solutions to the difficult situation in the industry
To seek solutions and create an action plan for how milk producers can survive in this difficult situation, dairy farming experts from the association "Farmers' Council" will meet at the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday, February 4.
Ieva Alpa – Eizenberga, board member of the association “Zemnieku saeima” and owner of the farm “Robežnieki”: "The situation in the dairy sector has not improved and we are still hearing about the decrease in milk purchase prices. Since the beginning of February, prices in Latgale and eastern Vidzeme have fallen by as much as four euro cents per kilogram of milk. We can no longer rely on someone else to improve the situation for us, so on Wednesday we will meet with representatives of state institutions who will present the current situation in the dairy sector, and together with other dairy farming experts we will develop a further action plan to improve the situation."
Juris Cīrulis, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Association "Farmers' Council" and owner of the "Mežacīruļi" farm: "The situation for dairy producers is getting worse day by day. None of us can predict when the crisis will end and the situation will improve, and what sudden developments are expected after the end of the milk quota system. Therefore, our current goal is to form a working group of dairy industry experts, which would be focused on operational analysis of the situation and action. We will invite dairy producers to the working group, who could regularly, for an indefinite period, provide an assessment of the situation from each region and develop reasonable proposals for improving the situation."
In the first part of the event, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture will introduce the attendees to the development trends of the milk market and the planned state and European Union support in 2015, while representatives of the Latvian State Institute of Agrarian Economics will inform about the difference between milk purchase prices and selling prices, as well as the survival possibilities of dairy farms. The management of the Agricultural Data Center will also provide an explanation of the calculation of fines for exceeding the milk quota.
In the second part of the event, attendees will discuss an action plan for further action.
We remind you that the situation in the dairy industry is still difficult. For many, 2015 has come with a decrease in the purchase price of milk, as well as the threat of fines for exceeding the milk quota. Moreover, at the moment, none of the milk buyers can clearly say whether this decrease in the purchase price of milk will soon be followed by another one.