The Sindicato Labrego Galego has requested the immediate convening of the Consello Agrario Galego and of the Mesa del Observatorio do Sector Lácteo, while demanding urgent actions by the Xunta, the Ministry and the Food Information and Control Agency (AICA) given the current crisis of the price of milk.
In a statement, the agrarian organization explains that, for refusing to accept a price reduction which it describes as "totally abusive", numerous female and male livestock farmers are going through an especially delicate situation.
As an example, he mentions four farms in Ribadeo (Lugo) to which, for rejecting the "abusive offers from the company Reny Picot", the company stopped collecting their milk.
Given this scenario, the Galician Peasant Union-Peasant Commissions (SLG-CCLL) demands the urgent meeting of the Galician Agrarian Council —which has not been convened in this crisis despite being the main interlocution body of the sector— and the activation of the Dairy Sector Observatory Table, with the aim of finding effective solutions.
"We cannot allow female livestock farmers and male livestock farmers to be forced to throw away milk due to an abusive practice by the industry," denounces the secretary of Union Action of the Galician Peasant Union-Peasant Commissions (SLG-CCLL), Brais Álvarez.
Farms of Ribadeo without milk collection
Under the heading "ABANDONED FARMS", the SLG demands that the Xunta, the Ministry and the AICA intervene immediately given the situation of these farms in Ribadeo and criticizes that, once again, producers "are unprotected under the tyranny of the industries".
The union details that, "unilaterally and in breach of the Supply Chain Law, at the end of March Reny Picot informed four farms in Ribadeo that it was denying them collection and that it was leaving them".
Of these four farms, he specifies that two are forced to dump the milk since April 1 by not finding any industry that wants to take charge of their production.
The organization recalls that the Supply Chain Law establishes that, if an industry does not wish to continue with collection at a farm, it must give notice with a minimum period of two months. However, it maintains that in this case Reny Picot notified its decision with only 5 days' notice, without giving the farms a real option to seek another alternative.
Furthermore, it points out that the dairy package obliges offers to be submitted two months in advance, which do not have to be accepted, but rather should serve as a starting point for negotiation, which could extend up to two months after the previous contract ends.
Despite this, the SLG denounces that certain industries formulate illegal proposals, with prices set below production costs.
In this context, the union indicates that it is transferring these alleged irregularities to the Food Control Agency (AICA) and is studying taking the case to court to "defend and enforce the rights of livestock farmers."
"They are finishing off the rural area and the Consellería do Medio Rural without doing anything in the face of these abuses. We find it unacceptable," the union has concluded.