Influence of Milk Production Limits on the Dairy Sector in the Province of Warmia and Mazury

Abstract

This paper analyses the influence of the implementation of milk quotas on the dairy sector and the situation of milk producers in the province of Warmia and Mazury and describes the changes taking place in the milk market from 2004-2009 in milk production, processing and management. The research material originated from a questionnaire-based survey conducted by the Chair of Economic and Regional Policy of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn in close collaboration with the Agricultural Market Agency (AMA). The survey encompassed 313 milk producers from the province of Warmia and Mazury during the quota year of 2009/2010. The remaining data referenced in the publication originated from materials developed by the AMA, the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoA) and the Central Statistical Office (GUS). The milk production quota system was intended to prevent excessive supply of raw material on the market and trigger concentration processes in the dairy sector. On the basis of the AMA studies results, it was determined that in the six years following milk production quotas, almost 3,500 producers withdrew from the market. Additionally, an analysis of data made available by the AMA indicates that the volume of milk produced has been constantly increasing (during the years 2004-2010 the volume of wholesale milk sold from a single supplier per year increased by 58.11% in the area of the province of Warmia and Mazury).