The government has approved the Ministry of Agriculture's (MAA) proposal to the Seimas not to consider the so-called milk law, although it shares the aim of ensuring fairer relations between milk buyers and sellers. 

The Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday endorsed the government's conclusion, which was prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and will be assessed by the Seimas.    

The draft conclusion prepared by the MAF states that if the amendments are suspended, a public consultation on the situation in the dairy sector would be held and new regulatory proposals would be prepared at that time. 

Agriculture Minister Ignas Hofmanas told BNS earlier that the draft dairy law would be re-drafted to include all parts of the milk production chain. According to the minister, the process could take about one year. 

The Minister said that the draft law will also include a space to discuss the market price of milk, but this will be more focused on the livestock sector, unlike the future Food Council.

Amendments to the Law on Prohibition of Unfair Practices by Operators Buying and Selling Raw Milk, which would provide for the regulation of milk purchase prices and the disclosure of milk pricing, were debated in the Parliamentary Committees in 2023 and 2024, but the law was not passed without a consensus among the associated structures, producers, purchasers, and processors. 

The Agriculture Council and farmers' organisations have so far said they do not support the draft, which they say has not been properly coordinated with farmers and does not include traders in the regulation.  

With new parliamentarians in place, the Parliamentary Board asked the government in December for its opinion on the draft. 

The amendments to the law were drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture in spring 2023 after farmers launched protests outside supermarkets and processing plants asking for fairer differentiation in milk prices.

Currently, the largest dairy processing companies process about 75% of Lithuanian milk.