The European Commission has proposed a raft of mini-reforms it says will simplify the EU market for milk and dairy products.

Under the plans, announced Thursday, subsidies for private storage of cream and skimmed milk powder would be abolished and an EU-wide quality standard for butter would be introduced.

The Commission also wants to open up school milk subsidies to semi-skimmed and skimmed milk, reflecting consumer trends towards lower fat dairy products.

The move represents the first ripple of reform across the EU dairy sector, ahead of the Commission's comprehensive dairy review next year. It is hoped the mini-reforms will go through within six months.

Dairy is a vital part of Europe's income from agriculture. Milk makes up 14 per cent of EU agricultural output and annual turnover in the dairy processing sector is around 117bn euro.

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Source: Foodproductiondaily.com