Government aid has so far made it possible to maintain the dairy sector in Menorca despite the low price of milk and the costs linked to the geographical location of the island. Thanks to the three years of the so-called Provilac plan, the livestock census in Menorca is maintained. There was a 0.5% increase in the number of breeding cowsand among men, it increased by 8%. Menorca’s milk production increased again after two years of decline and increased from 44.2 million liters of milk to 45.5 million liters.
All these data were proposed by the Director General of Agriculture, Fernando Fernández who chaired the Dairy Sector Table this Monday in Menorca to take stock of the third edition of the Support Plan for the Viability, Modernization, Promotion and Marketing of the Dairy Sector (Provilac) and analyze the functioning of the new measures incorporated to improve the profitability and competitiveness of dairy cattle farms.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Unió de Pagesos de Menorca, Fagme, Agrame, the Association of Cheese Producers and Ripeners of Menorca, the Balearic Friesian Association, the DOP Mahón-Menorca, the Agri-Food Cooperatives of the Balearic Islands, of Asaja-Baleares and UPA.
Fernández presented data on the evolution of the dairy production sector of Menorca and showed that Provilac, during its three years, has allowed the maintenance of the dairy production structure of the island, reports Europa Press.
However, he stressed that the substantial increase concerns milk intended for direct sale, that is, that which is processed directly by producers, increasing from 17.2 million to 20.1 million.
So, In 2023, 44% of the island’s milk production was intended for direct sale. “This reality opens up new challenges that we will have to face at the Dairy Sector Table,” said the Director General. On the other hand, the figures for Queso-Mahón Menorca are also positive, since production increased by 8% and the marketed value by 2%.
However, Fernández insisted that the problem of Menorca’s dairy sector continues to lie in the evolution of the price of milk paid to farmers. In this sense, it is still higher than the price that existed in 2021 when Provilac was launched, but the downward trend in prices for months is worrying.
The general manager clarified that the price increases from January 2022 to February 2023 were significant, but did not offset the increase in costs. Starting from February 2023, a month in which the difference between the average price of milk in the Balearic Islands was greater compared to the national average, the difference was gradually reduced.
In August 2023, the average price in the archipelago was 0.506 euros per liter, while the average price in Spain was 0.518 euros per liter. During the months of January, February and March 2024, the difference again approached 0.002 euros per liter, and from May 2024 the difference reduced, with July 2024 being 0.004 euros per liter. liter.
Furthermore, he clarified that in the 2024 call, a total of 126 applications were submitted (110 from Menorca, 14 from Mallorca and two from Ibiza), of which 123 files were approved.
Fernández recalled that the Plan provided for eight actions for 2024 and included, compared to previous years, new aid to encourage efforts and commitments to modernize the productive sector.
Government aid to breeders
This new aid was divided into three tranches. A first tranche in which all farmers would receive 0.025 euros per liter declared during deliveries to the first buyers of raw milk or declared for direct sale, a second tranche, where the aid was applied to liters of milk declared for direct sale or delivered to a cooperative or organization of agricultural producers of which the producer is a member and only for the liters delivered, or to a dairy industry with which he maintains a contractual relationship lasting more than one year and with a price located in the middle island zone. .
The aid was equivalent to 0.020 euros per liter declared and calculated on the number of cows registered. For its part, the third section which included a extraordinary aid of 0.025 euros per liter declared each time two commitments have been made: that of implementing the digital notebook in a voluntary period and, a second commitment of choosing between the installation of a livestock management module or the presentation of a business plan with productive aspects.
For the general section that all breeders received (aid equivalent to 0.025 euros per liter of declared milk) 126 requests were accepted. Among them, 56 files requested additional aid from the second tranche – direct sales – (52 in Menorca, two in Mallorca and two in Ibiza). Thus, they saw the final aid increased to 0.045 euros per liter. The files that requested the sales section to the industry were 43 in number (42 in Menorca and one in Mallorca), which resulted in a final aid of 0.045 euros per liter.
Extraordinary aid to the dairy sector
Regarding the extraordinary aid to the dairy sector of Menorca of 0.025 euros per liter of the third tranche (with commitment to implement the digital notebook and install a livestock management module or presentation of a business plan ), 86 final files were approved (80 in Menorca and six in Mallorca), which They finally received an amount of 0.050 euros per liter.
It should be noted that there were 12 files, all from Menorca, which received a total of 0.070 euros per liter as they all requested the section. 40 farms in Menorca also received this amount, which accessed the direct sales sections and extraordinary aid, and 21 files (20 from Menorca and one from Mallorca) which were submitted to the direct sales section industry and extraordinary help.
This new Provilac also included actions aimed at improving the transparency of the dairy sector value chain, or the line intended for dairy industry operators to cover additional costs due to milk processing. In Menorca, three specific requests for this line were submitted, which received a total amount of 578,787 euros.
At the Dairy Sector Roundtable on Monday, ideas were exchanged between the Government and representatives of the sector and the main needs were discussed in order to be able to introduce them in future reissues of Provilac. Concerning the Provilac IV approach, the reception is good from the entire sector.
