After the ongoing farmers' protests, the German supermarket chain Aldi announced that from this year onwards it will only sell German conventional and organic fresh milk in Aldi stores.
The company does not claim that all milk in all stores will be of German origin just yet, but it wants to replace as much milk import as possible with milk from German sources.
The announcement by Aldi follows new blockades of distribution centers earlier this week by German farmers protesting against a threatened reduction in butter prices. A company spokesperson did not want to disclose how much milk Aldi currently imports from neighboring countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria.
The farmers' protests at Aldi locations in Lower Saxony have temporarily ceased. “With Aldi, we have made progress in negotiations, at least regarding butter prices,” said a spokesperson. Reportedly, the butter price reduction will be much less than farmers initially feared.
Aldi-Nord announced that the company had assured farmers it will take measures in the short term to improve the situation in German agriculture. According to this, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd want to source only conventional and organic fresh milk from Germany. The company aims for long-term contracts to give farmers better planning security.
According to Aldi, structural challenges can only be solved through cooperation with politicians, the food processing industry such as dairy companies, and consumers. A nationwide video conference has meanwhile been scheduled for January 13 with state politicians, retailers, processors, and farmers.