The Swiss ‘solution’

Sitting at the European Dairy Association conference on dairy dynamics beyond 2015, there were a lot of confused faces when the Swiss presenter discussed how the post-quota system works in Switzerland. It appears that Switzerland has taken away the European Union quota system and replaced it with a somewhat confusing tiered system, tied together largely with a ‘gentlemen’s agreement.’ All quite interesting but I am not sure it will work on a larger scale throughout the EU.

It does carry some warning, however ­ high tariffs keep the milk prices high in the country and cheaper milk out, which I don’t think is a sustainable method for the overall union. Also, how to format the agreements so that all may benefit? Over a larger scale, it would seem that the method the Swiss are employing is unwieldy.

That being said, agreements up and down the supply chain, as long as they don’t contradict WTO standards, are not a bad idea. Removing profits from farmers so they can’t sustain their livelihoods is not helpful in the long run to the retailer. The UK has put in place its own set of voluntary agreements ­ which is a gentlemen¹s agreement by another name. Life after quotas will not be predictable, but civility on all sides will go a long way to smoothing out future disputes, I suspect.