London: Farmers have clashed with police in the centre of Brussels amid protests about falling dairy and meat prices in Europe. An estimated 4,000 farmers, including some from Britain, gathered in Belgium’s capital on Monday as European farming ministers hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in the agriculture industry.
They blockaded the streets with tractors, and some protesters pelted the police with eggs and sprayed milk at them. At least one policeman has been injured and water cannon have been used against the demonstrators.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has said dairy farmers face a “state of emergency” after a 25% fall in the wholesale price of milk in the past year. The average farm gate price of milk in the UK stands at 23.35p a litre, below the estimated production cost of 30p a litre.
Farmers in mainland Europe have also been hit by falling milk prices, as well as a drop in the price of lamb. European farmers have suffered a sharp decline in demand for their products as Russia blocks western imports of food and China tries to bolster domestic production rather than buying milk from Europe.
One banner held up by protesters in Brussels claimed that ‘Europe is drowning in milk’.
Elizabeth Truss, the environment secretary, is representing Britain at themeeting of farming ministers. She has pledged to push for the creation of a new futures and insurance market in dairy products so that farmers can insure themselves against price fluctuations.
Meurig Raymond, the NFU president, will hold talks with Truss after the meeting. Raymond wants long-term contracts between farmers and supermarkets to be introduced and for the government to force retailers to improve the labelling of their products so shoppers can see where food has been sourced.
British farmers blame supermarkets for the slide in milk prices. They claim milk has been used as a weapon in the industry price war and that retailers are not doing enough to promote British-sourced products. In protest they have blockaded distribution centres and herded two cows through an Asda store in Stafford.
In response, supermarkets have bowed to pressure from farmers on a number of issues.
Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl have increased the amount they pay, and Tesco has agreed to use only British milk in its own-brand yogurts instead of importing from Germany, as it had done previously.
