It was inevitable that Malta Dairy Products (MDP) sales of Benna fresh milk, ricotta, and so on would fall once the protective levies, which hitherto doubled the price of imported milk, were lifted. The same has happened in all other sectors which were until recently protected, viz furniture 18 months ago and other food items now, like processed tomatoes, pasta, biscuits, chicken, pork, bacon, sausages, beer and wine.

What is amazing is that MDP seem to have been unprepared for this and were taken by surprise. Not only have they started an advertising campaign AFTER the market opened on 1 May, but (well in people’s perceptions at least) nothing has been done to improve quality They also failed to reduce production to avoid over-production.

The matter needs to be considered also from the viewpoint of consumers, retailers and. importers.

This paper spoke to consumers, who are pleased with this new choice, especially long life alternatives, which are so convenient, avoiding the need to buy milk every day. Of course consumers can, and in their majority are still, buying MDP’s product, which is the cheapest. Many are mixing their purchases buying both local and imported brands.

Interestingly, consumers are switching to imported brands not because they cost less than Benna. They cost more and in some cases substantially so.

However there are considerations of quality and convenience.

Retailers contacted by this paper have expressed unmitigated relief that they have an alternative to “the arrogant attitude of MDP” which, because of its monopoly for over half a century, allowed virtually no margin at all, gave no credit, delivered at unearthly hours (sometimes as early as 4am), leaving fresh milk standing unrefrigerated outside. Retailers are now better served and are securing a fair return for their efforts.

Importers have obviously seized the opportunity to get involved in this sector, and have imported both fresh milk from nearby Sicily, as well as long life UHT (ultra heat treated) milk from further afield.

The consumer, as a result, now has a wide choice rather than one single brand offering just semi-skimmed and skimmed milk. Better quality imports are now available in various formats and sizes and a variety of types including whole milk and even flavoured milk.

Rather than clamour for protection, MDP should consider improving the quality of their fresh milk and introduce whole milk, which is especially ideal for growing children. Indeed, the EU is insisting that MDP comes in line within a few years, since the current quality is considered to be not of a high enough standard.

Milk should be free of antibiotics and bacteria, accord a reasonable profit margin to retailers even if it means slightly increasing prices. After all it isn’t only herdsmen who need to earn a living but retailers too.

The argument that herdsmen may suffer is not very convincing, since all other factories face this predicament and milk should be no exception. At any rate the animal feed used is 100 per cent imported grain, so it

could be argued that by protecting local milk, we would be indirectly benefiting foreign grain producers at the expense of foreign herdsmen, many of whom use natural grazing which produces higher quality milk, including whole milk, which cannot be produced from milk based on animal feedstuffs.

In any case, jobs lost by Maltese herdsmen and MDP staff would no doubt be compensated by new jobs in the importation/wholesale sector with better margins for retailers.

While it is expected that consumption will stabilise after the initial euphoria and many consumers may well go back to local milk, what is certain is that consumers have taken to UHT milk with enthusiasm. This is in line with the trend in countries like France where the demand for UHT milk far outstrips fresh milk.

The MDP should get its act together and compete on the strength of quality and value-for-money. Consumers should not be deprived of choice just to keep some employees in work. Were that the case, we would need to reintroduce protection for all local products like furniture, detergents, food and so on.

Meanwhile, in a statement concerning speculations about the local milk market, Malta Dairy Products categorically denied that the company is throwing away any fresh milk delivered by Maltese and Gozitan producers.

“It is only natural that in a newly liberalised market new products attract some interest.

“Malta Dairy Products is satisfied however that the consumers are still choosing local fresh milk and dairy products,” the statement added.