50 tonnes of milk ‘dumped every day’

UP TO 50 tonnes of milk are being poured down the drain by farmers every day because dairy manufacturers won’t buy it, the head of the Cyprus Turkish Livestock and Producers and Breeders Union (KTHÜYB) said this week.

KTHÜYB head Mustafa Naimoğulları said he had asked the Agriculture Ministry towards the end of 2020 to prepare a “plan and programme” regarding how much milk is needed in the country but that nothing was done.

As a result, 10 to 50 tonnes of milk produced are wasted every day, he said.

“They put 50 percent of the manufacturers’ milk on the stock market,” he said. “It is sold for 50 kuruş less and, despite this, manufacturers are trying to survive.

“As well as this, they are not buying goat’s milk, using the excuse that the price is high.

“The livestock sector has been left in the hands of the manufacturer. They are making excuses like ‘We cannot sell to the domestic market’, ‘There is no market’, ‘Turkey is closed due to corona’, ‘Hotels are closed in our country’, ’We are left with the milk since there is no market’.

“This way, they push both the government and the livestock farmer into a corner. They buy the milk from the breeder cheap and get incentives from the state for the hellim and cheese they export.

“Despite this, nothing is resolved. It seems like things are getting better for a couple of days and then on the third day it’s back to the beginning. Of course, the ones to blame for this are those in charge of agriculture.”

Mr Naimogulları, stating that the he had warned the Agriculture Ministry months ago that a plan was needed regarding milk production, continued:

“We stated that there should not be open-ended production during this crisis period because if there was we would hit a wall.

“As this crisis could not be resolved in April and May when milk production was at its highest level, we . . . asked that the manufacturers report how much milk they would need. However, this was not done. Milk production reached its highest level in the last few months.”

With the weather getting warmer, the unsold milk remains in refrigerators and its quality deteriorates, Mr Naimogulları said.

“There are a thousand goat milk producers . . . who are suffering because they are at the mercy of the manufacturer.”