Dairy producers, in danger

Cattle breeders in Romania are determined to take to the streets

Daniela Budu, 15.03.2023, 13:50

An analysis by Ziarul Financiar publication in Romania says the country has the highest prices in Europe for fresh milk, a product bought regularly by most consumers. Specifically, one litre of fresh whole milk, which in Romania is sold in supermarkets for EUR 1.45, is EUR 1.19 in France and Belgium, little over 1 euro in Spain and only EUR 0.76 in Poland.

According to the publication, a Romanian earns a monthly EUR 900, which is 2-3 times less than a French, Spanish or Belgian employee. Moreover, in Poland, the most developed economy in Central and Eastern Europe, where net salaries are EUR 1,100, the price for one litre of fresh milk is nearly one-half of the one in Romania.

Romanians pay almost twice as much for this product than they did 2-3 years ago, and in 2021 Romanian farms had the lowest output in the past decade, 41.7 million hectolitres of milk. Imports, on the other hand, have surged. According to official data, imports of milk and sour cream exceeded EUR 100 mln in 2021, double the figure a decade ago.

In this context, many Romanian cattle breeders say they risk closing down their businesses due to cheap milk imports and higher retail prices. According to the National Statistics Institute, prices for most dairy products in supermarkets have increased by over 30% over the past year, while butter prices are almost 45% higher.

Nonetheless, according to the chair of the Mures Association of Cattle Breeders, Iacob Boca, on average the price of locally-sourced milk dropped by 30% over the past 2 months, and producers are rather desperate.

Iacob Boca: “There are areas in Mureş County and elsewhere in the country where milk is sold by producers for EUR 0.28 per litre, EUR 0.30 or EUR 0.34 per litre. My fellow producers are desperate and insisted we should think about the next steps to take: do we sell our animals because we cannot survive in the market, do we keep working and covering our losses, or do we go to the agriculture minister, the PM or the president of the country and tell them we are forced to close down our businesses?”

According to Mr. Boca, processors import milk, leaving local producers with hundreds of thousands of litres of milk unsold. As a result, Romanian breeders announce they will demand that national policy makers protect local dairy production by law, and resolved to submit a memorandum to the government to this end. Iacob Boca:

Iacob Boca:”Cattle breeders have loans to repay, leasing agreements to cover, employees to pay, plus the spring expenditure for the new season. They are desperate and eventually they will sell milk even for 30 eurocents per litre, just to make ends meet for another month or two.”

Romanian dairy producers announced that in the forthcoming weeks they will organise rallies around the country to express their frustration. (AMP)