End of Departure Scheme Dutch Milk Foundation

The board of Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina U.A. has been informed by the Dutch Milk Foundation (DMF) that the total available volume (1.2 billion kilos of farm milk) of the Departure Scheme has been reached, bringing an end to this scheme as of 9 November. A total of 1,032 dairy farmers benefited from the scheme.

The board of the dairy cooperative regrets the departure of member dairy farmers, but respects the decision they took based on their individual considerations. At the same time, the board is pleased that the Departure Scheme, which was not in the cooperative's interest but a condition from the European Commission during the merger, has now come to an end.

The cooperative FrieslandCampina is open to new member dairy farmers and by 2022 the cooperative's operating area has been expanded into parts of Belgium and Germany. With the recently sharpened business strategy 'Expedition 2030', we expect the company's profitability to improve so that the cooperative can provide members with a leading milk price and they can continue to invest in the sustainable future of their dairy farms.

Background

The European Commission has approved the merger between Friesland Foods and Campina with the condition that 1.2 billion kilograms of farm milk be made available to third parties.

The Departure Scheme and the Milk Availability Scheme were created for this purpose. The DMF as an independent party, has been implementing these two schemes since 1 July 2009. The Departure Scheme was intended as an incentive for member dairy farmers to switch from FrieslandCampina to another buyer of farm milk in the Netherlands. The scheme provided for a departure premium of 5.00 euros per 100 kilograms raw milk, with delivery in the previous calendar year serving as a reference.