Pundits: Milk quota removal, disaster for small producers in Romania

The removal of the milk quota starting April 1 will be a disaster for Romania’s small producers and their only solution to stay on the market is to create strong associations, said representatives of the Federation Agrostar. When the quota disappears, Romania will be invaded by milk from other EU countries, which have better performances on the dairy market, according to Agrostar representatives. Authorities introduced the milk quota some years ago because countries such as France, Germany or the Netherlands used to have high milk production, which disrupted the market. “Only since the end of the last year we’ve founded union in several counties, which include over 4,000 cattle breeders,” said Horatiu Raicu, general secretary with Agrostar, cited by local Agerpres. Unlike individuals, associations can access European funds, can collect the milk and can close deals with retailers. “Small producers need to remove multinationals from the processing sector, by setting up small local factories to process milk. If multinationals are not eliminated from the processing sector, they will massively import,” Raicu added. editor@romania-insider.com