EU doing too little to help struggling farmers

France wants new market regulation measures to help farmers hurt by low milk and pork prices and has submitted proposals ahead of a meeting of European Union (EU) agriculture ministers.

The French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, has called on the EU to do more to help its struggling livestock industry, seeking to defuse protests that have seen farmers block highways and supermarkets. Speaking after a meeting with supermarket retailers about the farming situation, Valls said the Commission had so far done “too little, too late”, in response to a downturn in agricultural markets. France had in particular called for market regulation measure” in proposals submitted ahead of a meeting of European Union agriculture ministers later this month, he said.

Prices for milk and pork have fallen below the cost of production for many European Union farmers as a Russian embargo on Western food has caused oversupply, and France says 35 000 of its livestock farms are at risk of going bankrupt. The French government has offered hundreds of millions of euros in aid to livestock farmers since last summer. But with no sign of an upturn in market conditions, farmers have renewed street protests since the start of the year. To read more about this, click HERE.