Galician Farmers Accuse Lactalis, CAPSA, and Lence of Discriminatory Milk Pricing

The Sindicato Labrego Galego-Comisións Labregas has raised concerns with major milk processors Lactalis, CAPSA, and Lence over discriminatory pricing based on the size of farms, affecting small operations despite delivering milk of the same quality. According to the Consellería de Medio Rural, in January 2025, smaller farms (<100,000 liters) received 41.38 €/100 liters, while larger farms (>700,000 liters) received 47.98 €/100 liters, indicating a 6.6 cents per liter price gap. Contracts offered by these industries further exacerbate this disparity.

• Lactalis offers no premium for less than 200,000 liters delivered annually but provides 5 cents/liter bonuses for 200,000-275,000 liters, and 5.5 cents for more than 275,000 liters.
• CAPSA gives bonuses starting at 250,000 liters, reaching 5 cents/liter for over 2 million liters.
• Lence (Río) starts bonuses at 1 cent for 240,000 to 600,000 liters, increasing to 4 cents for over 3.6 million liters.

This results in a potential price difference of up to 12.1 cents per liter between small and large farms, causing losses exceeding €10,000 annually for those producing 90,000 liters. In 2023, 48.6% of Galician farms were "small" by entities like the Fundación Juana de Vega. This pricing strategy, farmers argue, promotes industrial concentration, squeezing out small and medium family-run farms crucial for rural economic and environmental sustainability. The SLG has formally requested that these companies increase milk prices without volume discrimination, threatening an informative campaign involving commercial zones and consumer organizations to publicly denounce companies penalizing family farms if demands aren't met.