Europe's dairy crisis: Fallout from EU policies

A shopper at a supermarket in the Russian capital, Moscow. (File photo)

Its one of the worst crises that Europe is facing, a crisis that may spread throughout the world actually, because the dairy crisis is a serious one, and its roots are not just in one or 2 places.

The EU ban on exports to Russia, turmoil in China and the EU's cutting of quotas resulting in a glut of global supply have all contributed to the dramatic fall in milk prices, which is causing significant economic losses to the farmers.

Since April 2015, the EU has scrapped production limits on dairy produce, which has resulted in a steep decline in the industry's profitability and prices. The liberalization of quotas brought about an overproduction, which, in turn, lowered prices.

The big supermarkets are also to blame, especially in the UK. Supermarkets wield formidable power over both their suppliers and their customers, a power that used to dictate terms and prices to suppliers. As a result, the practices of some of these big supermarkets have driven 3,000 small and medium-scale farmers in Britain into poverty or out of business over the past decade.


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