Ahead of the end of the milk quote regime the European Commission has launched a new service to make the industry more transparent.
A new European Milk Market Observatory has been launched by Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolo ahead of the end of the milk quote regime on March 31, 2015.
The Observatory will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to monitor the dairy market and help the sector adapt to the new environment, after 30 years under the quota regime.
The Observatory is aimed at increasing transparency and providing the most accurate market data, so that actors of the milk supply chain can take well-informed business decisions and the Commission can make well-informed policy decisions.
The Observatory will provide a single web interface with raw data for stakeholders in the milk sector. It will also follow and analyse past and present trends in EU and world dairy markets, production, balance between supply and demand, productions costs and markets perspectives.
Commissioner Ciolo_ said: “The new CAP strengthens the role of stakeholders in ensuring a balanced development of the milk sector. For them to be able to do so, we need both transparency of data and an accurate analysis of the market. The Observatory’s true added value will lie in the constructive assessment of different market analyses. It will be a crucial tool for decision-making by the Commission and Member States”.
Following on from the concept first floated by Commissioner Ciolo at the Dairy Conference in September 2013, the Observatory will provide data transparency, complemented by market analysis, short-term outlook reports and medium-term prospects, as well as by regular meetings of an economic board.
This board composed of milk market stakeholders will discuss the data and add relevant information and insight that is not readily available from statistics. The Milk Market Observatory meetings will be reflected in reports that will also be made publicly available.
