Leading dairy producer Mlekovita looks set to suffer under EU quotas

The Mlekovita dairy in Wysokie Mazowieckie is the most modern diary in the country, as well as the largest exporter of dairy products. Its future depends on the milk quotas granted by the EU. "Without the appropriate quota we will not be able to adjust to EU standards. We will be forced to reduce production and resign from export contracts we have signed," said Dariusz Sapinski, Mlekovita's president. Some 35%, or zl. 12 million monthly of company produce is sold abroad. Mlekovita recently signed a lucrative contract with the government of Mexico to supply them with 20 tons of various blends of milk in 2003 and 2004. "If the EU forces us to cut production we will not be able to fulfill the Mexican contract. Analysts say that Polish dairies have a better reputation abroad than in Poland. "Danio, for example, sells better in Poland that other domestic products," Sapinski said. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 7) A.Z.