NO MILK would be dumped if dairy farmers did a better job with planning, Agriculture Minister Fotis Fotiou said yesterday.
He was speaking a day after farmers of the Paphos district spilled some 15 tons of unsold milk onto the streets.
The milk producers’ action was in protest at cheese makers’ alleged use of powdered milk in their products, which they say led to an excess of the liquid.
Cheese producers rebut the allegation.
In a bid to resolve the dispute, Fotiou yesterday called a meeting of cheese makers and representatives of the farmers at the Agriculture Ministry.
Coming out of the meeting, the minister announced that cheese makers had agreed to take in any extra milk, but stressed this was only a quick fix.
“It is only a short-term solution. In the long run, dairy farmers should come up with others ways to solve this problem once and for all,” he said.
“There has been a [milk] surplus for the past two to three years. It is time that farmers took their fate into their own hands.”
Fotiou urged dairy farmers to consolidate into groups – a move encouraged by the EU – adding: “We will support them if they do.”
“Still, they are right when they say that the cow’s milk produced often exceeds the quota. It seems there are certain producers who cheat and produce more milk than they should. We are aware of this, and are trying to prevent this practice as far as we can.”
Fotiou was referring to an ongoing debate within the bloc to phase out milk quotas.
Current rules would keep quotas in place until 2015, but the European Commission has said this will be revisited as part of a dairy market review in 2008.
Abolishing milk quotas is likely to help larger dairy producers and processors to expand, speeding up the consolidation trend within the sector.
A compensation scheme set up by the European Commission could help ease smaller producers out of the sector.
Some in the industry believe milk quotas have already lost their relevance.
For example, a UK government-sponsored report has predicted Britain is likely to be one billion litres below its 14bn-litre EU quota by 2008.
Fotiou also acknowledged that farmers were right “to a degree,” in that some cheese makers use powdered milk.
He said the use of powdered milk in dairy products is prohibited, and that stricter controls to crack down on this practice would be enforced after halloumi cheese is registered as a protected product with the EU.
Athos Pittas, chairman of the cheese makers’ association, categorically denied that they used powdered milk in halloumi, and challenged farmers to produce the evidence backing their allegations.
He said that this time cheese makers were willing to buy up the excess milk, but criticised milk producers for poor planning.
According to Pittas, the surplus in Paphos was a purely coincidental and seasonal problem.
“This problem always comes up right after Easter. It’s the result of bad planning. What we want is for milk to be available all year round. Animals can easily be programmed for that.
“We are businessmen, and we have our own timetables to keep. One can’t expect the cheese makers to take in extra milk at the last moment,” said Pittas.
Pittas said he was aware that imported powdered milk was used in ice creams and yogurt, though never in cheese.
“We would never do such a thing,” he insisted.
