The Ministry is examining how to improve relations in the milk sector

In order to strengthen the position of milk producers in the supply chain and to balance contractual relations with milk processors, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAA) is organising a public consultation on the electronic platform "E.pilietis" (http://epilietis.lrv.lt), which will run until 3 October inclusive.

This consultation – is part of the implementation plan for the Government Programme. The aim is to draft a new law to better regulate contractual relations in the dairy sector.

Why the need for change?

There is currently a significant imbalance of bargaining power between milk sellers/producers and buyers/processors. Milk producers are often small and uncooperative and therefore have little leverage in negotiating price and terms of sale. Meanwhile, the dairy processing sector has an oligopolistic structure (dominated by a few large companies) and milk, as a perishable product, cannot be stored. This makes it even more difficult for producers.

The Milk Law, adopted in 2015, was intended to empower producers, but regulatory shortcomings have become apparent during its implementation and the objective has not been achieved. In addition, the law was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2020. This has led to regulatory gaps and uncertainty.

How to participate in the consultation?

The Ministry of Agriculture invites the public, stakeholders and social partners to participate actively and to provide their views and suggestions on how the legal framework could be improved.

In order to submit your proposals you need to:

• Visit the website http://epilietis.lrv.lt.
• Select the "Public Consultation" tab on the home page.
• Find the consultation on „Improving contractual relations in the dairy sector“.
• Download the questionnaire, fill it in and send it to ruta.savickiene@zum.lt by 3 October

Your views and suggestions will be used to draft legislation that will help create a more efficient and sustainable dairy sector in Lithuania.