Milk price: Lactalis fined 74,000 euros in Italy
Lactalis, whose reputation is well established, has a dominant position on the Italian market. This bias is criticized today by the Italian authorities, who accuse him of unilaterally reducing milk prices paid to producers in 2023. In the midst of the European agricultural crisis, Francesco Lollobrigida, the Italian Minister of Agriculture, points to a review of contracts with Italian milk producers: “ (Lactalis) took advantage of its dominant position in Italy to unilaterally revise contracts with our milk producers, resulting in a reduction in their revenues. ” As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture imposed a fine of only 74,000 euros on this giant ” Unfair practice “
In the face of these allegations, Lactalis does not stand still. The firm, through its subsidiary Italet, quickly announced its intention to appeal the penalty, Arguing that the contract modifications in question, in contrast, Farmers were allowed to benefit from an additional 40 million euros compared to the previous year” 10% more than initially planned at a price commensurate with the market”According to the dairy group.
Processes that stack
In addition to this fine, the situation is complicated for Lactalis with the announcement of opening 100 other procedures for similar facts. Amid the European agricultural crisis, The Italian inspectorate for the suppression of fraud in agri-food products, an agency dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, is stepping up efforts to monitor and regulate the actions of agri-food giants on its own market.
The Coldiretti Agricultural Union, through its president Ettore Prandini, welcomed the decision which it sees as “the first historic victory” in the fight for fair milk prices. The request is clear: that Lactalis compensate the farmers for the damages caused by the changes to this contract.
