Europe's farmers dump milk to protest low prices

By Catherine Hornby and Bate Felix

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Dairy farmers sprayed about 3 million litres of fresh milk onto fields in Belgium Wednesday, the latest high profile act in a European-wide protest over low milk prices.

Dairy farmers have blocked deliveries, held back supply and thrown away millions of litres of their produce as part of a campaign over what they argue is a failed liberalisation and milk quota system.

They blame both the European Commission and local governments and about 7,000 litres of milk was dumped in front of German agriculture ministry buildings in Bonn Saturday.

After a price spike in 2007, global dairy markets have declined with European producer prices falling to lows of about

20 (euro) cents (18 pence) per litre. Most farmers say about 40 cents per litre is needed to cover costs and generate a basic revenue.

Leaders of the protests say they want the European Union to freeze planned increases in production quotas and Wednesday they demanded the creation of a pan-European institution to regulate the demand and supply of milk.

"It is really sad that we have to throw away the milk," Romuald Schaber, president of the European Milk Board, said at a demonstration in Belgium where protesting farmers watched hundreds of tractors spew milk over fields.

"Our demands were not heard by the politicians."