At the last tender sale, the remaining 162 tonnes of skimmed milk powder out of a total, original amount of 380,000 tonnes in public stocks were sold, fully emptying as a result the total stocks bought and managed by the Commission. At the last tender sale, the remaining 162 tonnes of skimmed milk powder out of a total, original amount of 380,000 tonnes in public stocks were sold, fully emptying as a result the total stocks bought and managed by the Commission. Following the dairy market crisis that hit EU producers with lower prices in 2015-2016, the European Commission bought from 2015 to 2017 a total of 380,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder (SMP) through public intervention. EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said sale of the last remaining public stocks of skimmed milk powder closes a chapter and is a vindication of the Commission's patience and prudent management of the whole process since 2015. With today's sale of 162 tonnes, there is no skimmed milk powder left out of the original 380,000 tonnes and all 14 Member States that were storing skimmed milk powder on behalf of the Commission have managed to empty their stock.

Source: Irish Independent June 21, 2019 10:41 UTC