All other retail chains have accepted “necessary price increases,” MGN’s managing director Leopold Gruber-Toberer said in response to an APA request on Monday. Last week delivery for spar stopped on Monday – dairy farmers need to stop delivery against more spar (noe.ORF.at; October 27, 2024).
NÖM AG in Baden is Austria’s second largest dairy after Berglandmilch. It is 65 percent owned by Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien and 35 percent by MGN, whose approximately 2,500 members supply raw milk to NÖM.
NÖM will continue to be supplied with raw materials by farmers, said MGN Managing Director Gruber-Toberer. However, the Spar supermarket chain was ordered not to supply milk. “If there is no agreement, there will be a stoppage of supply,” clarified the MGN managing director.
According to Spar, the requested price hike is not acceptable
In a statement on Monday, Spar, NÖM, under the threat of immediate delivery stoppage, has demanded a general price hike in the double-digit percentage range across the entire range, regardless of whether it is understandable and reasonable for the respective product. It is not accepted in the interests of Austrian consumers.
Lower Austrian dairy farmers: stop delivery to spar
Austria has called for a supply freeze against Spar under the MGN Milk Cooperative. The cooperative society has demanded to raise the price of milk.
Spar insisted that negotiations would only take place with representatives of NÖM AG. Prices for various raw materials such as corn, sugar, energy, animal feed and packaging materials have proven to have declined recently. “Therefore, in the interests of domestic consumers, we cannot accept a general, undifferentiated and incomprehensible price increase for the entire NÖM range, i.e. for selected products such as butter, “Why the price increase was understandable, we were able to reach an agreement with local dairies and agree to the corresponding purchase price increase with NÖM.
It said the retail chain is “ready at any time to continue discussions on an equal footing”. It was emphasized that the supply of Austrian dairy products was “guaranteed in any case”. Spar is supplied with regional or Lower Austrian milk and dairy products from other dairies in the Lower Austria/Vienna region.
The Farmers Union is exploring legal action
The farmers received support from the Lower Austrian Farmers’ Union on Monday. Director Paul Nemecek is investigating possible legal action in the interests of local NÖM dairy farmers, as emphasized in a press release. ÖVP National Council member Johannes Schmuckenschlager, head of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, also expressed solidarity. “Our dairy farmers deliver the highest quality and do a great job 365 days a year! It absolutely deserves more praise.”
