The state provides 30 cents per liter for processing surplus milk.

The Serbian Government did not respond yesterday to the request from the Montenegrin Ministry of Agriculture to temporarily allow the import of surplus milk from Montenegro for processing and packaging, and they hope to receive a positive response today.

The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday announced a call for the storage and processing of market surplus milk, which will be financed with 30 cents per liter in a maximum quantity of 250 thousand liters of milk. If this maximum quantity were purchased, the total cost to the state for the disposal of surpluses would amount to up to 75 thousand euros. This would enable the continuation of milk purchase and rescue 400 small farmers, from whom milk purchase ceased six days ago. The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday first adopted a decision on the introduction of a temporary market intervention measure in the raw milk production sector, based on the agro-budget where this measure is foreseen with a total of 250 thousand euros.

The call stated that support for withdrawal and storage will be awarded to interested economic operators who have appropriate facilities for storing surplus raw milk, evidence of production capacities for processing raw milk into long-life milk, or contracts with economic operators who have production capacities for processing raw milk.

"Aid for the withdrawal and storage of surplus raw milk is granted in the amount of EUR 0,30 per liter of purchased milk, withdrawn and stored until May 31, 2026, in a total quantity of 250.000 liters of milk, and the calculation of funds is carried out on the basis of submitted evidence of withdrawn quantities of raw milk purchased from registered agricultural producers and quantities of long-term stored milk," the Ministry of Agriculture document states.

There is also a surplus of milk on the Serbian market, which is why the country has decided to ban milk imports. Therefore, a special permit is required for the temporary import of milk for processing, which would then be returned to Montenegro.

The proposal to solve the problem of surplus milk by processing it into long-life UHT milk at a plant in Serbia and packaging it in petrapak was agreed upon at a meeting of representatives of farmers, dairies, the ministry, and retail chains.

Director of the “Lazine” dairy Milutin Đuranović He told "Vijesti" earlier that his company would be interested in participating in the public call, as well as that they have their own brand of long-life UHT milk and packaging.

At that meeting, traders announced that they would help farmers and dairies by later organizing promotional sales of that milk, and most have already reduced margins on homemade yogurt, which they have the most in stock.

Đuranović previously told "Vijesti" that the dairy industry conducted analyses that showed that for the production of UHT milk to be minimally sustainable, at least 40 thousand liters of milk would have to be processed and sold daily.

"That is more than the current total milk production in Montenegro, and it is impossible to guarantee the sale of such a quantity. So processing and packaging in Serbia is a good measure for the surpluses of milk that occur seasonally at the beginning of spring, then during September and October, and partially during December and January due to fasting," said Đuranović.

Montenegrin dairies have been limiting purchases from farmers who produce less than one hundred liters of milk per day since Thursday last week, because their cold storage facilities, as well as the cold storage and warehouses of retailers, were full. This has stopped the purchase of milk from around 400 farmers, or small family farms. The decision to temporarily stop purchases from small producers was made because they can more easily process these smaller quantities into dairy products on their farms or use them in other ways.

The measure allows production to continue on farms

The explanation stated that they decided on the measure after being approached by the Livestock Breeders' Union and the Milk Processors' Association, with the aim of taking timely measures and creating conditions for the normal functioning of the market and maintaining production and stable income of agricultural producers.

"Given that raw milk is a product with a limited shelf life, the inability to purchase, store or process it in a timely manner can cause significant economic losses for agricultural producers, jeopardize their liquidity and put the continuation of production on agricultural farms in question," the Ministry stated.