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The proposal given the green light by national officials to give the European Commission full control over the quantities of skim milk powder (SMP) accepted into intervention in 2018 are a step too far, according to Gerald Quain of ICMSA.
Quain, the chairperson of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association’s dairy committee, said the proposal represents a major overhaul of the price supports in place for the dairy sector needs to be amended to take account of market volatility.
As it stands, the proposal gives the Commission complete control over whether to accept SMP into intervention in 2018 or not, ICMSA said.
In the context of the current stocks in intervention and the purchase of SMP into intervention in 2017, ICMSA can understand the EU’s concern on this matter but ICMSA believes that the proposal should be amended with a clear link to the prevailing milk price being paid in the EU.
At present, there is absolutely no link with milk price which ICMSA says is a huge concern for farmers.
Quain said that what ICMSA is proposing is that intervention for SMP should be automatically triggered with the current 109,000t limit when the EU milk price falls below 30c/l (based on Irish base constituents).
Such a proposal would meet the EU Commission concerns in relation to stock build up while at the same time, provide farmers with a level of certainty that supports will be available in the event of a market downturn, Quain said.
’2018 won’t be as good for dairy no matter how you look at it’
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