Farmers are sounding the alarm.
Against a backdrop of price inflation, notably due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, milk production was already under strain.
But the sector must now also deal with the drought announced this summer, which they believe could weigh on French milk production.
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The drought could indeed compromise the production of fodder to feed the cows, and ultimately the production of milk.
Ten French departments have already exceeded the drought alert threshold in May, with a rainfall deficit of 70%.
Something to worry cow breeders, whose activity requires significant water resources.
Mains voltage
These factors of tension come on top of the difficulties of an already fragile dairy sector.
Although France maintains its position as the second European producer of milk, a product for which it is self-sufficient, it suffers from a decline in the number of producers.
In a report published in March, France AgriMer was thus concerned about a constant drop in the number of farms in recent years, which continued in 2021 and which 2022 should not slow down.
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In order to prevent more farmers from throwing in the towel, the milk sector union, Syndilait, has called for an increase in selling prices.
As part of trade negotiations with the distribution sector, union president Eric Forin has asked to “
break the glass ceiling of 'one euro per litre'
” for milk.
He thus estimated that production costs should increase by 15 to 20% in 2022, and that prices would benefit from increasing accordingly.
New negotiations must begin with the distributors on this subject.
For consumers, this new risk of rising prices is in line with shortages and inflation for several consumer products, such as oil, flour or eggs.
In April 2022, compared to April 2021, their prices increased by around 10% according to the analysis company IRI.