Lithuanian farmers have been struggling as a global milk glut has caused milk prices to collapse. Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Virginija Baltraitienė told BNS that if the funds were forthcoming from the Commission that the Lithuanian government would provide a matching amount of funding, bringing the total support package for farmers to €150 million.
She said the request was submitted to the Commission in February. The funds requested from the Commission are equivalent to the losses incurred by the dairy sector last year which was also hit by losing access to the Russian market.
In 2015, the Lithuanian dairy sector received a total of €72 million in support from the Lithuanian government and the European Union.
Baltraitienė said the Commission would also consider a proposal to regulate milk output in the EU adding that such a measure might be opposed by Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland.
She blamed increased production after the lifting of milk quotas in the EU as key driver of the collapse in milk prices.
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