Federation of milk producers rejects any price reduction and demands the protection of the sector

The National Cooperative Federation of Milk producers in Lebanon rejected the request of Lebanese dairy factories to reduce the price of 1 kilogram of milk by LBP 100, knowing that the price of 1 Kg of milk is set at LBP 1150, according to a previous tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, milk producers and factory owners.  This position was announced in a statement issued by the federation following its meeting in Zahleh last week during which it warned of further escalation in their actions if the Ministry does not intervene to withhold the unfounded demand taken by factory owners.  The Federation noted that the unit price of milk is principally dictated by the price of feedstock which has risen significantly.  The organisation also demanded limiting the large quantity of milk powder currently existing in the market, and allowing UHT imports so that factories can start new production lines, strengthening the role of relevant Ministries in protecting both products and consumers as well as increasing the unit price of natural milk with a raise of LBP 250 which will bring the price more in line with higher cost of living and increasing production costs.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Diyyar, Al-Mustaqbal 24 October 2014