Romanian Milk Processors Deny Unions Involvement In Price Setting

The processors replied to an accusation of the cattle breeders’ union, which said processors refuse to increase milk prices and threatened with protests.

 

If processors were to pay more for the milk purchased from producers, consumers would have to pay more for the final products, the Romanian Employers’ Association in the Milk Industry, or APRIL, said in a statement.

 

The Agrostar Federation trade union, which includes the cattle breeders’ union, recently requested an increase to 1.5 lei (EUR1=RON3.7376) a liter from RON0.8 a liter for milk complying with EU norms (3.5% fat and 3.2% proteins) and to RON1 a liter from RON0.5 a liter for milk that does not observe EU standards (with similar levels of fat and protein).

 

The unions said processors refuse to discuss milk prices and threatened to organize protests at the main processing units on March 11.

 

Last week, two Romanian top milk processors Danone Romania and Friesland Foods said milk prices paid to cattle breeders increased by over 30% in the past year and that processors would not be able to absorb a new increase, which would reflect on prices for final products. 

 

Besides, higher prices for Romanian dairies might trigger a switch in consumers’ preferences, who would choose imported products over domestic ones, milk processors said.

 

The processors added unionists forgot to mention another element which affects prices, namely milk quality.

 

“Another vital element is that unionists failed to mention the quality of the raw milk sold to processors. Only in Romania is it possible to have double standards: milk that complies (with EU norms – e.n.) and milk that does not. This triggers different prices, and therefore we cannot compare prices for Romanian raw milk with prices practiced in other European countries, which have a single quality standard,” the processors said.