France to intensify supermarket milk price scrutiny - report

foodanddrinkeurope.com, report by Neil Merrett, 16-Jun-2009

As protests continue around Europe from dairy farmers concerned about covering their costs in the current market, French producers appear to have succeeded in speeding up government scrutiny of supermarket pay practices, according to reports.

At the weekend, French farmers' unions reportedly blocked almost a third of distribution warehouses supplying major chain retailers in the country as part of a planned 48-hour protest about the margins supermarkets are making on milk.

Amidst wider European dissatisfaction from farmers, who claim they are failing to cover their production costs at current prices, the French government is now expected to step up reviews of supplier concerns relating to the role of supermarkets.

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