Milk may soon be unavailable on our shelves.
“Dairy products fall into three categories: milk (raw, fresh, pasteurized, sterilized, powdered), cheeses, yoghurts (white cheeses and fermented milks). Crème fraîche and butter are made from milk but are high in fat and low in calcium. They are therefore not counted in dairy products. These are foods whose consumption is recommended to be limited.
67 liters of milk and 24 kg of cheese are consumed each year in France per inhabitant according to FranceAgriMer, the national establishment for agricultural and seafood products”.
It’s not me who says it! These are the Latest News from Alsace, the daily newspaper which is not frankly low-level alarmism.
“Our country is the second European producer of cow’s milk, but in twenty years, the number of breeders has been halved.
This year 2021 will have been really special because it has also seen a decrease in the dairy resource. Milk collection decreased by 2% compared to 2020, and this decline continued in the 1st quarter of 2022.
After the price inflation linked to the coronavirus pandemic, then the war in Ukraine, it is the drought that could well weigh on milk production in France. This could indeed compromise the production of fodder to feed the cows. Ten French departments have already exceeded the drought alert threshold in May, with a rainfall deficit of 70%. Breeders are worried because their activity requires significant water resources.
The vice-president of the National Federation of Milk Producers (FNPL) explains: “To make milk, you need fodder. To have fodder, you need water. In general, in the spring, production increases. But with the dry weather we have this year, that is not the case. We are worried about the future. »
We must increase the price of milk by 20%!
“Herders’ costs are up while incomes are down. Some are no longer able to repay their loans. Selling their dairy farm becomes their only chance of survival. But a producer who stops is never replaced. According to Syndilait – the professional organization bringing together the majority of fluid milk manufacturers in France – the price of milk should be increased by around 20% to compensate for the increases in the costs of electricity, cardboard, plastic and transportation. »
Price locks never work. NEVER.
Why ?
Simple.
In the very short term you can lock in the price for a few weeks. But when inflation sets in the cost of production increases. If the price is blocked, then production is quickly no longer profitable enough and production simply ceases.
If you want to lock in prices, you have to subsidize the producer.
If you subsidize, then it can work, as long as your state is solvent and its coffers are full enough to pay the gallons of milk for all the families in this country.
With our 3,000 billion euros we cannot say that our coffers are really full.
“Faced with drought, inflation and the decline in the number of producers, the threat of a milk shortage is very present in France. According to INSEE, inflation will continue to accelerate in the coming months. We risk having to import milk to meet our high demand.”
It’s a pity that the milk can’t be stored longer, it’s that you’ll have to end up really investing in a cow. In the meantime, powdered milk keeps well!
Charles SANNAT
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