European milk economy is over-regulated

The daily Les Echos comments on the protests by milk producers against the fall in dairy prices: "All the major dairy countries are confronted with a problem that has them at a loss: the sharp and enduring drop in global prices for milk and other dairy products like butter and milk powder. If milk prices have all of a sudden dropped so low ... it is not just due to the obscure profit margins of the major distributors, but also because for years the dairy industry has been over-regulated. With its production quotas, public purchasing procedures and export aid, Europe - with the help of France - has pursued such a perfect revenue policy that milk producers have been turned into the employees of their customers. ... But because this policy has not been accompanied by necessary social adjustments, there's been a rude awakening now that the bubble of white gold has burst."

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