On the occasion of the European Council meeting on 18 and 19 June, Copa and Cogeca, the bodies representing European farmers and European agricultural cooperatives, are calling on the heads of state and government to set clear political guidelines for addressing the crisis in the dairy
sector.

Padraig Walshe, President of Copa, said, “European dairy farmers are in a serious economic crisis.

Demand for dairy products has fallen abruptly across the whole of the EU. Our dairy sector cannot adapt in such a short time. Prices for farmers have fallen to their lowest level in recent history, in some countries to those of 1983. To make matters worse, production costs have remained at an alltime high. This is disastrous for farm incomes, endangering the very existence of dairy production in the EU.”

Gert Van Dijk, President of Cogeca, added, “This dairy crisis clearly shows that farmers’ role in the
food chain must also be strengthened. Our share of the price of the final product has fallen to an
unsustainably low level. Farmer-owned cooperatives are facing an imbalanced food-chain and nontransparent
commercial practices, and measures are needed to change this.”

http://www.copa-cogeca.eu/Download.ashx?ID=527117&fmt=pdf

For further information, please contact:
Noá Simón
Policy Advisor
Tel.: +32 2 287 27 33
noa.simon@copa-cogeca.eu
Simon Michel-Berger
Press Officer
Mobile: + 32 474 840 836
simon.michel-berger@copa-cogeca.eu