Speaking after the vote, Mr Raymond stressed “In the short term, we need to alleviate pressure on the market provoked by the Russian ban on dairy exports. Prices have plummeted in some countries by over 30%, like Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, and targeted action is crucial to alleviate this. Private storage aid should still be open for cheese for countries severely affected by the ban. The scheme was suspended early even though 50, 000 tonnes still remain to be used. It remains open for skimmed milk powder and butter. The milk intervention price also must be updated urgently to take account of rising production costs. In addition, we need support to find new market outlets for our produce, to remove artificial barrier to trade and to boost export promotion and export support. The European Commission must act. Additional funds from outside the CAP are vital to fund the crisis which is the result of politics and not of farmers mistakes. We had a profitable industry and this was shot overnight. I will do all I can to help the industry move forward”.
He continued “Global demand for dairy products is predicted to be positive in the medium-term, forecast to grow by 2.3% annually up to 2020 and we need to be in a position to make use of these market opportunities. We need to look at ways to address the extreme volatility on the dairy market and encourage the development of futures markets to take some volatility out of the market and help farmers to hedge against risk. With the removal of dairy production quotas, we need to have more transparency in the supply chain in order to get our just rewards through the chain and not be squeezed by the retailer. Many producers are also facing a huge superlevy bill this year for excess production and we have to see if we can do something to alleviate this pressure. Research and innovation is also a must to move the industry forward”.
Mr Raymond MBE from the National Farmers Union of England and Wales has a mixed farm running 620 dairy cows, beef, sheep, combinable crops and potatoes near Letterston, Pembrokeshire. Mr Tommaso Mario Abrate, from a family farm and cooperative organisation in Italy, as well as Mr Thierry Roquefeuil from France specializing in dairy cattle and suckler cows were appointed as Vice-Chairman
