ONLY ONE STABLE IN FIVE HAS SURVIVED THE MILK QUOTA REGIME IN EFFECT FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS AND ENDING TODAY. THERE ARE ONLY 36.000 DAIRY FARMS LEFT IN ITALY AND THE DANGER IS NEW FINES AND THE INVASION OF MILK FROM ABROAD (40%), SAID COLDIRETTI

One stable out of 5 has survived the milk quota regime effective for more than 30 years and ending today. There are only 36.000 farms left in Italy but the risk of new fines is still very real, along with an invasion of milk from abroad (40%), revealed the Italian farmers association Coldiretti "dossier on the implementation of milk quotas in Italy" the Coldiretti farmers presented today in Rome, in Piazza del Foro di Traiano, together with the great-granddaughter of the cow "Onestina", a symbol of the honest farmers’ battle for Made in Italy products.

“At the beginning of the milk quota system in 1984 in Italy”, said Coldiretti, “there were 180.000 stables, and farmers were paid on average 0,245 euros per liter while consumers paid 0.40 euros per liter (780 Italian Liras).
Today, the price of fresh milk has multiplied more than four times from stable to shelf, which means 317% markup. Farmers are paid on average 0.36 cents per liter while the average cost to the consumer for high quality milk is 1.50 euros per liter.
The price paid to farmers has increased just over 10 cents while the cost to consumers has grown 1.1 euros per liter. Farmers today must sell three liters of milk to buy a cup of coffee, four liters for a pack of candy, four liters for a small bottle of water in a bar, and almost 15 liters for a pack of cigarettes. Furthermore, the price paid to farmers”, continued Coldiretti, “does not even cover the cost of feeding the animals”.

“There is a contractual disparity for the supply chain that determines abuse of the economic position on the market which farmers depend upon”, said the president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo, reporting “this situation is likely to get worse at the end of the milk quota system. Coldiretti and Codacons”, concluded Moncalvo, “have therefore presented their complaint to The Competition and Market Guarantor Authority (AGCM) to shed light on the abuses of economic dependence to the detriment of fresh milk producers”.
In addition to the decrease in the number of farms in Italy, Coldiretti also points out, “The real risk is new fines, estimated at around 40 million euros for the last year of the milk quota system as Italy went over production level allocated by the European Union, four years after Italian farmers had not paid any penalties. Exceeding the allowances allocated in 2014/2015, is given”, continued Coldiretti, “by the 3% increase trend over last year between April 2014 and January 2015, as AGEA recorded. This means”, pointed out Coldiretti, “this was the first breach after Law 33 of 2009 went into effect”.
The farmers are worried about the future of the sector. “The milk quota system is ending and EU milk production is estimated to increase 6% this year. The real risk comes from foreign invasion of milk in Italy, which already imports nearly 40% of dairy products consumed.
Three cartons of UHT milk out of four sold in Italy are foreign while half the mozzarella cheese is made with milk or even curds from abroad, but no one knows”, complained Coldiretti, “because it is not mandatory to indicate it on the label”.