Severely criticized by French producers over the price of milk in a context of strong agricultural anger, Lactalis is now in the crosshairs of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. The latter has just imposed a fine of 74,000 euros on him for “unfair practices”, accusing him of having lowered the price of milk paid to Italian producers “unilaterally” by taking advantage of “its dominant position in Italy”.
The Italatte sector of the French dairy giant directly contested this entire decision and decided to appeal, considering “that the alleged economic damage is completely unfounded”, according to the group’s press release. The manufacturer, which collects 1.5 billion liters of milk each year from 1,100 Italian suppliers, specifies that “in 2023, the proposed contractual changes allowed farmers to receive 40 million euros, an increase of more than 10% compared to what was initially planned, at a price in line with the market.
“Lactalis must respect the rules of this country, our producers and our production costs,” insisted the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, reports AFP. “This is a first historic victory in a battle over the price of milk which will be long and difficult,” said the president of the Coldiretti agricultural union, Ettore Prandini. The matter is in fact not over for the agri-food giant.
Alongside this fine, the Italian authorities indicated that they had opened 100 other procedures for similar “unfair practices”. In France, Lactalis is the target of an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) for a completely different subject of aggravated tax fraud.
