Milk producers: The European Union is cold-bloodedly pushing us away 

Next week will mark exactly 3 months since the Russian Federation imposed a food embargo on food products produced in the European Union. The ban has affected all agricultural sectors, but the hardest hit was the dairy sector, where milk purchase prices have decreased by 25%. Support is promised, but Latvian farmers have not received anything more than promises from the European Commission, therefore today the chairman of the association Juris Lazdiņš met with the Minister of Agriculture Jānis Dūklavas to discuss the progress of the process at the European level. Dairy farmers are approaching irreversible consequences and emphasize the need for immediate support from the European Union.

Juris Lazdins, Chairman of the Association "Farmers' Council": "Currently, a reverse situation has developed in the European Union, where funds intended for farmers' misfortunes have been diverted to contain the Ebola virus, but support for Baltic farmers in the milk crisis is not provided. Farmers must always comply with all European rules, but Europe is not going to keep its promises. We have lived for quite some time with promises of equality between European Union member states. Currently, farmers expect quick action from the new European Union Commissioner for Agriculture, not only with beautiful texts, but with tangible action."

The owner of the farm "Robežnieki" Ieva Alpa – Eizenberga: "Currently, milk purchase prices range from 0.12 to 0.255 euros per kilogram of milk and there is nothing to indicate that the situation will change in November." rapidly improve. There are a lot more dairy cows and calves for sale in the ads, but there are no buyers, so Unfortunately, farms cannot supplement their budget with this instrument either. The European Union funds earmarked for agriculture crisis situations it simply has completely different goals and I have the feeling that they are cold-bloodedly pushing us away. Dairy farmers are ready to express their opinion in Brussels as well, but the situation is so bad that there will be no means to get there. Food production is one of the most important for human existence, but the European Commission's hesitation in making decisions is a blatant mockery of us and our profession, and it is truly sad. We must ask again - should dairy farmers in the Baltic States and Finland pay for the EU's common policy with their companies?"

Linards Selivanovičs, Chairman of the Board of SIA “Vārpa”: "The dairy crisis is being felt the hardest by farmers in the Baltic States and Finland, where milk purchase prices have fallen significantly and there is currently a feeling that we are separated from the rest of the European Union. As soon as decisions need to be made, implemented and enforced, we are a full-fledged member of the European Union, but when we are doing very badly and need support, we are separated. It turns out that we have to implement and enforce European Commission regulations immediately, but we have to wait years for support. This approach is not correct. If we have all agreed to play the same game by the same rules, then everyone must follow them!"

So far, Latvian milk producers have only received promises. In mid-September, the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dačan Čiološ, during his visit to Latvia, promised to find an opportunity to provide support to dairy farmers. Also, in mid-October, the European Union Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg considered this issue and most EU member states expressed solidarity with the request of the Baltic countries and Finland to compensate for the losses suffered by dairy farmers. However, the necessary measures to resolve the issue have still not been taken and dairy producers are close to despair.