“It would seem that most dairy farms in Malta and Gozo are looking at ways of diversifying their activities, since they are not finding it easy to make ends meet just by producing milk,” former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said when visiting a big dairy farm in Kercem Gozo as part of a briefing programme to check on updates in the agricultural sector.

Alfred Sant said that past efforts to tap EU knowhow when undertaking such ventures have still not given adequate results. “Over the years, attempts have been made to start cheese production to absorb the excess milk produced in winter and create more value added for it. However, this has still far to go and the island still does not produce cheese in volumes and formats that can compete with imported products.”

Alfred Sant, who will be contesting the MEP elections, was shown around the farm by the owners and managers. They explained that production of milk has become less profitable over the years since costs have grown much faster than income. Competition from European suppliers has become more acute while local producers remain subject to the disadvantages caused by their small scale.

The owners explained to Dr Sant that the farm, which houses about 200 heads of cattle, is among Gozo’s foremost producers. The uptake of the milk it produces is subject to a quota system, which allocates a price up to a certain volume of output. Beyond that volume the farm is paid at a much lower rate for its milk. Excess production usually happens in winter while in summer it is frequent that milk produced is less than the quota would allow. In the latter case, farm revenue declines but running costs hardly change since the cattle still need to eat.”

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