The Government would like to see the abolition of the milk quota system as soon as is practicable because it is bureaucratic, constrains production by efficient farmers and imposes additional costs on the United Kingdom dairy industry.
The current European Union (EU) regulations provide for milk quotas to continue until 2015. The EU Commission is due to carry out a “health check” on the common agricultural policy (CAP) by 2008 and the Agriculture Commissioner has indicated her willingness to consider phasing out milk quotas. We shall be negotiating for an end to milk quotas as part of a structured reform of the CAP.