Berlin, March 19 - Germany is calling for a delay of some European Union farm reforms agreed in November 2008 because of a crisis facing dairy farmers, German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said on Thursday.
Germany wants a suspension of the EU's programme to increase milk production quotas by one percent in 2009 following a dramatic fall in milk prices, Aigner told Reuters.
There are signs that the first farms are starting to close, she said. "We have a dramatic situation on the milk market," Aigner said. "The existence of large farms is also starting to be threatened."