Held in one of the most picturesque capital cities in central Europe, still enjoying warm evening weather in September, it was an enjoyable and very informative trip.
With a particular focus on dairy producers, the conference was well attended by delegates from across Europe, keen to gauge where the industry is headed next.
With milk quotas, initially set up by the European Union as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 1980s, set to end in 2015, the dairy industry is evaluating what this will mean for prices, supply and finished products in the future.
In the first session, ‘Perspectives for the dairy industry in Southeast Europe’, a number of speakers looked at demand development, production possibilities and options for export to Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Republics.
Slovenian Minister for Agriculture and the Environment Franc Bogovi? reminded us that Slovenia has a growing milk and dairy industry, although still playing a minor role in the entire European output.
Siemen van Berkum from the International Policy Division of the LEI, Netherlands, gave an interesting speech about dairy production in Southeast Europe, and aimed to give us ‘food for thought’ when considering investment and business moves and mergers across the region.
He highlighted trends and challenges such as rising consumer demand for high-quality products, higher processing demands, environmental demands, global competition and technical innovation, asking whether the region could really respond to all of the above.
“Milk production is declining in Southeast Europe,” he explained. “Production levels are modest. Romania is the biggest market, but it is declining. Only small producers such as Bosnia and Macedonia are growing.”
He explained that this was due to increasing imports, which had almost doubled in the region in 10 years. Regional production cannot keep up with demand, with Serbia the sole export country. He was blunt in stating as a conclusion that, “The dairy industry in the region seems far from ready to take up the challenges of global competition. Foreign direct investment may play an important role in the future.”
The session ended with an overview of business in the region from the point of view of Marjen Vu?ak, CEO of Meggle, Eastern Europe. The company saw vast opportunities in the region when the Iron Curtain came down, aiming to first get its products onto the shelves and follow with its own production sites in the region.
He argued that milk production was still almost a ‘social solution’ in many of the countries in the region, with self consumption, street milk and the black market accounting for huge percentages of milk produced.
It was amazing to learn that almost 90% of the milk produced in Romania, for example, never makes it into commercial products.
After a networking lunch, we reconvened for two further sessions, looking first at milk production up to the time of quota abolition, and then at food wastage and reduction in the dairy chain.
Speakers included Jim Woulfe, CEO of Dairy Gold in Ireland, Jais Valeur, member of Arla Foods executive management group, and Sophie Eastel from Wrap UK.
Lars Hoelgaard, special policy advisor, advised that the number of milk producers in Europe had declined from 1.2 million in 1984 to around 220,000 in 2010. Five milk producers out of six have left the industry since quotas were introduced. He estimated that, by 2020, the EU-27 nations will be producing just 4% more milk than in 2009. Competition from emerging nations such as Brazil will provide another challenge.
The session on food waste had me guiltily thinking about the vegetables that seem to moulder at the back of my fridge before being thrown out in a regular clearout.
It turns out I’m not alone, as Sophie Eastel from Wrap UK pointed out that 17 billion ‘5-a-day’ portions are thrown away every year in the UK, 25% of the total food waste.
Dairy accounts for 10%. Sophie urged producers to do more with clear date labelling, longer product life and helping consumers to optimise storage at home with recloseable and freezable packs, and more temperature advice.
It certainly focused my mind to think more about the provenance of dairy products and to not waste an ounce in the future.
Hannah Oakman is deputy managing editor magazines at FoodBev Media.
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