The industry looms with not collecting the milk if the graziers do not accept prices underneath of cost

The Coordinator of Organisations of Agriculturalists and Graziers (COAG) complaint that, to a week of the entrance in force of the forcing of the agreements in the dairy sector (3 October), the Ministry of Agriculture, Feeding and Environingingment has not published the Royal decree-law that has to regulate his operation. In front of this situation, there are dairy industries that are posing to the graziers agreements with prices that do not surpass the 0,30 euros/litre under the threat of not collecting the milk if they do not sign agreements with multiple illegalities and abusive clauses that some graziers have received, according to the agricultural organisation. “We are speaking of a run over in all rule since the costs of production situate above the 0,35 euros/litre, as it collects the own Ministry of Agriculture”, has reported Miguel White, general secretary of COAG. “If it does not put coto to this situation –has added– by part of the Ministry and the regional administrations, in these conditions the agreements only will come to legitimate an extortion that has caused the disappearance of 120.000 exploitations in the two last decades”.

To the low prices of the milk in the field, add the espiral upward of the basic raw materials for the animal feeding. Of January to September, the price of the piensos has gone up more than 40%, tendency that hampers the economic feasibility of the wall of 22.000 exploitations of beef of milk that exist in our country, as it has reported the organisation. Besides, it continues the strategy of the big chains of distribution of French capital and German that, by a part, keep a reasonable price of the milk to the producer and to the consumer in France and Germany, and, by another, derive the excedentes of dairy production of these countries to the Spanish market to prices underneath of costs, using the milk like product demand and sinking the prices in origin to the graziers. “In these moments, to the grazier pays him by a litre of milk the half of what costs a litre of water in the linear”, has aimed White.

Photo: Matthew Maaskant.

During the month of September, COAG has gone out to the street in the main producing zones to report this situation and demand to the central Government, Autonomous Communities and National Commission of the Competition an immediate application of the current Law of Defesa of the Competition against the abusive commercial practices and the illegal sale to losses, as well as against the utilisation of the milk like product demand by part of the big chains of distribution. Besides, the MAGRAMA is dilating in the time the sending of the draft of the preliminary draft of the law of improvement of the chain agroalimentaria, vital so that agriculturalists and graziers can negotiate prices in conditions of equality with industry and distribution, according to COAG.