Effects of the Dairy Market Reform 1988

Since mid-1987 Austrian dairy farmers have been reducing the supply of milk thereby allowing a cut in unprofitable exports. The 1988 reform of the dairy market introduced significant changes affecting both farmers and milk processing firms. They may be regarded as a first step towards liberalizing a market excessively regulated for several decades. More needs to be done, however, if efficiency and profitability are to meet Western European standards.