据德国媒体报道，4月1日起，欧盟牛奶配额制正式终结，奶农们担心乳品价格会继续下滑。业内人士称，目前生牛乳的价格已经低到了令很多奶农无法支付成本的地步。在配额制取消之后，牛奶收购价格可能继续下跌，但超市货架上的牛奶制品价格将不会改变。
报道称，欧盟牛奶配额制走过了31年历史，最初设立时的初衷是保护乳业，通过设立产量上限寻求供需平衡。
上世纪70年代末和80年代初，欧洲牛奶产量严重过剩，出现了所谓的“牛奶海”和“黄油山”现象。当时欧盟的前身欧共体对此采取了一些应对措施，包括在12月出售低价的所谓“圣诞黄油”，向前苏联出口黄油等。
1984年，牛奶配额制应运而生。该机制最初计划只实行五年，但后来又一再地被延长。该机制的主旨就是限制牛奶产量。奶农只要产量超过相应的规定上限，就必须支付罚金。
根据德国联邦农业部的评估，这一机制并没有真正起到保护奶农收入平稳的作用。相反，在过去30年中，生乳每公斤的价格仍然存在幅度达到20欧分的波动。许多小型奶农农场无法维系生计被迫关门。
欧洲奶业协会总干事、德国农业专家安同（Alexander Anton）认为，配额制的终结不会对超市货架上的牛奶制品价格产生“丝毫影响”。
欧盟委员会也持类似观点，认为根据以往经验来看，牛奶收购价格和终端消费价格之间并没有必然联系。即使奶农将牛奶出售的价格再被压低，消费者购买的乳制品也不见得会变得更优惠。（中国进出口网）
According to German media reports, from April 1, the EU milk quota system officially ended, dairy farmers are worried that prices will continue to decline. Insiders said that the current low raw milk prices have made many farmers unable to balance the cost and profit. When the quota system abolished, the milk price is likely to continue to fall, but the price of milk products on supermarket shelves will not change.
Reportedly, the EU milk quota system has gone through 31 years of history, the original intention for this system was to protect the dairy industry and seek to balance supply and demand by setting up production ceiling.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, European milk was overproduced, with the so-called "Milk Sea" and "butter mountains". The European Community (now called the European unio, EU) has taken some measures, including the sale cheap "Christmas butter" sale in December, and exporting butter to the Soviet unio.
In 1984, the milk quota system came into being. This mechanism was originally planned to function only for five years, but later was extended repeatedly. Thrust of this mechanism is to limit milk production. As long as dairy farmers’ production exceeds the upper limit, farmers must pay a penalty.
According to the assessment of the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, this mechanism does not really play a role in the protection of steady income of farmers. On the contrary, in the past 30 years, the price per kilogram of raw milk has fluctuations of 20 euro cents. Many small dairy farms can not sustain livelihoods and be closed.
The director-General of the European Dairy Association and the German agricultural expert Alexander Anton believes that the end of the quota system has no impact on the price of milk products on supermarket shelves.
The European Commission takes a similar view that based on past experience, there is no necessary connection between the purchase price and the end consumer price of milk. Even if farmers sell milk at a lower price, dairy products bought by consumers may not become more favorable.
