EC pledges €28m for Baltic dairy farmers impacted by Russian embargo
The €28m support package will be divided between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, based on their respective milk production levels in the 2013/14 season, the EC said in a statement.
Lithuania, where farmers produced 1,407,289 tonnes (2013/14 EU milk quota data on deliveries and direct sales) of raw milk last season, will receive €14.1m (US$17.7m).
Latvia (778,906 tonnes) will receive €7.7m (US$9.6m), and Estonia (750,275 tonnes) €6.9m (US$8.6m).
In terms of dairy, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia were among the worst hit by the August 7 one-year Russian ban on the import of beef, pork, fruit, poultry, cheese, and milk from the European Union (EU), US, Australia, Canada, and Norway.
EU dairy exports to Russia in 2013 totalled €2.3bn (US$2.9bn), but accounted for just 1.4% of milk produced across the 28 EU Member States.
This figure was, however, much higher in Lithuania (14%), Estonia (8%), and Latvia (5%).
"Financial envelope"
“I am very conscious of the significant impact that the Russian ban has had on dairy producers in the three Baltic countries given their exposure to the Russian market and the drop in prices,” said Phil Hogan, EC Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.
“When we look at the share of national production previously exported to Russia and the drop in prices since the start of the crisis, we see that the dairy sectors in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have been particularly adversely affected.”
The largest price drop was seen in Estonia, where raw milk prices fell from €29.85 per 100kg of raw milk in August to €25.15 in September.
Latvian milk prices in September stood at €23.36, down from €27.21 in August, and in Lithuania, prices fell from €24.27 to €22.78.
EU milk prices in September meanwhile averaged at €36.53.
“I am pleased, therefore, that the Commission intends to provide support in the form of a financial envelope for each of the three countries which will support those dairy farmers which, as a result of the Russian ban, are encountering liquidity problems in exceptional circumstances," Hogan added.
Finland dropped?
In October, the EC said it was considering the provision of financial aid for dairy farmers in EU Member States it deemed hardest hit by the Russian import ban.
It said then that targeted financial support could be provided for dairy farmers in the Baltics and Finland.
Around 22% of all milk produced in Finland in 2013 ended up in Russia. The effect of the Russian ban has been seen in Finland, where between August and September raw milk prices fell from €49.07 to €46.47.
DairyReporter.com understands that despite its omission from the Baltic support package, Finnish milk producers could still receive some financial aid from the EC.
A source in Brussels told DairyReporter.com that the plight of Finnish dairy farmers is not being ignored.
"The EC is continuing to engage with Finland to assess the impact on Finnish dairy farmers," the source said.
