Small Lithuanian dairies are not competitive enough yet to operate in the European Union market, stated the participants of the milk producers meeting, held in the Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture on Wednesday.
Bronius Markauskas, the head of the Lithuanian Association of Dairy Producers, said that the government has failed to respond to requests from the milk producers to lessen the fee for controlled cows, which was suddenly raised in spring, pay-out the promised sums for quota milk or compensate the expenditures of farmers, implementing EU standards in their farms.
AS required by the EU, Lithuania has introduced a milk quota system on its territory. However, other means of regulating the dairy market, such as intervention purchases or the subsidies to exports, have not been functioning yet.
According to specialists from the Agriculture Ministry and the National Paying Agency, the biggest debates centre around quota sell issue. Some dairies categorically argue against it, while others, mostly pensioners and small milk farms, opt for the sale.
At present, the milk quota can only be sold together with the whole farm, including buildings, land and cattle, or be transferred to children or family members.
The amount of milk in farms rose 5 percent to 1.861 million tons last year, according to data from the Statistics Department.
:
ELTA
|
