Some EU member states want private storage for dairy

A number of European member states led by Hungary wants the European Commission to allow private storage of dairy products. Hungary wants to be able to store milk powder and cheese as soon as possible. This is to reduce pressure on the market. European Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen is not opposed to the request but wants to conduct a study on its usefulness and necessity, as he indicated during the European Agriculture Council held last week. Nine other member states agree with him. These countries (Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia) are mostly from Eastern and Southern Europe, although France is also in favor. Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy insists on private storage because there is currently a lot of pressure on the dairy market. The prices of butter, milk powders, and cheese have fallen sharply, leading to a significant drop in milk prices for farmers. Private storage should not be confused with intervention. In the latter case, the European Commission purchases products. They are then also stored, but as the property of the Commission. When the market improves, the product is sold again. In private storage, the products remain the property of the producer or trader. The prices of various dairy products have indeed fallen sharply, but they have not yet reached the intervention level. For skimmed milk powder, the intervention level is €1,694 per ton, and for butter, the level is €2,217 per ton. There is no intervention for cheese. Dairy was last taken into intervention in 2020.