Price of milk, Copagri: "Unsustainable situation in the stables"

“In the face of the surge in consumer prices of the main food products, there are no significant increases in the remuneration received by agricultural producers and breeders; the latter, in particular, in the vast majority of cases continue to pay the price of lower prices than production costs ”.

This was stated by the president of Copagri Franco Verrascina, pointing out that the situation in the stables is unsustainable and many companies are at their last resort.

“The continuous increases in the prices of raw materials, starting from February, are having a heavy negative impact on the balance sheet of the farms, which now more than ever have to produce milk below the cost of production; with the rising prices on the energy front and the increase in the price of fertilizers and seeds, the situation can only worsen ", explained Verrascina, highlighting that" in the face of this, farmers are required to fulfill numerous and burdensome obligations for the maintenance of quality and animal welfare which, although fully acceptable, translate into additional costs ".

"Precisely on the milk side, a few days after the first meeting of the technical panel on the critical issues of the supply chain, which followed two meetings of a political nature from which the almost unanimous desire to reach an agreement for the definition of a minimum reference price for the delivery of milk to the stables, there is no news relating to the convening of a new technical comparison; at this point, we believe it is useless to reconvene the technical table, as the reasons that prevent us from reaching an agreement are purely political ”, he said.

"In fact, in the face of a clear position expressed by agricultural organizations, which merged into an equally clear proposal by the Mipaaf for an agreement that would safeguard Italian farms, it was not possible to find the right balance, as the agreement was not was welcomed by some members of the supply chain ", Verrascina pointed out, according to whom" with the postponement of the entry into force of the plastic tax and the sugar tax, which arrived after pressing the entire supply chain, we believe that, as also suggested by Minister Stefano Patuanelli, there are new negotiating margins to give companies some oxygen ".

“At this point, we must understand if as a Country System we have the will to defend a sector of fundamental importance for our agri-food and for our economy; the alternative is the default of the sector and the bankruptcy of thousands of companies. The measure is full and the farmers are exasperated. If the situation does not change within a short time and if there are no answers to the legitimate requests advanced, everyone will have to assume their responsibilities and pay the consequences of the failure to agree ”, concluded the president of Copagri.

(Unioneonline / F)