Shehayeb lowers milk prices without addressing the problem of milk surplus

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb agreed to lower the price of 1L of milk to LBP1000 instead of LBP 1100, thus succumbing to pressures from the milk processing factories. Shehayeb was speaking after meeting with President of the National Council of Milk and Dairy Manufacturers and producers, Jack Kallas, and head of the Cooperative of Dreyb, in Akkar, Joseph Abdallah, in the presence of Ministry’s General Director, Louis Lahoud and his consultants. Kallas claimed that the “problem comes from a lack of trust in the Lebanese products and from dumping the market with foreign produce> He added that price of milk in Lebanon is high compared to LBP 400 to 500 in all other countries pf the world. The price of imported milk, powdered, labneh or cheese, even with a 100% custom added fees, he said, remains cheaper. For his part, Minister Shehayeb pointed out that agreement has been reached on a number of issues: “First, the ISO mark should be printed on the labneh or cheese product to help the consumer differentiate between the dry or fresh milk made labneh,” adding that he will send a letter to the Minister of Economy to this end. Shehayeb also disclosed that “some 127 milk factories are not licensed and therefore severely undermine the industry. As such, they are now required to settle their situation with the Ministries of Industry and Economy respectively; otherwise, they will be forced to close. Secondly, action will be undertaken to ensure the pre-registration of white cheese factories in Lebanon, in order to be thoroughly monitored.  Pre-registration of imported white cheeses will also be required. Finally and referring to tariff barriers and Arab Trade Facilitation Agreements, Shehayeb concluded by acknowledging the dumping of milk products through Arab countries thus sticking a severe blow to the sector.
(An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, 25 February 2015)