When milk production quotas in the European Union (E.U.) end on April 1, 2015, three countries with long and successful dairy traditions won't be standing still when they enter the global dairy export race.
Germany, Holland and Ireland are already boosting their output significantly, as seen by the big "superlevy" fines they face for exceeding their quotas during the 2013-14 production year.
Ever-growing milk surpluses pushed the E.U. to develop a quota system in 1983 that is still applied to its 28 member nations. When a plan to end quotas was adopted six years ago, a superlevy fine system was adopted to keep members in line before they expired.
It hasn't slowed down the "big three" a lot in 2014, despite amounting to $16.08 per hundredweight at current exchange rates. Fines are imposed upon farmers according to their share of the excess.
According to multiple news sources in Europe, milk producers in Germany face a record superlevy fine of $205.5 million, those in Holland $168.1 million, and those in Ireland $122.2 million.
Five other much smaller dairy countries are also over their quotas and owe a combined $22.9 million. The 20 other E.U. nations are below quota and the E.U. as a whole is 4.6 percent below.
