The lockdown and breakdown of the catering trade as well as initial purchases and higher marketing shares via the food retail trade presented challenges. Meanwhile, high volatilities and upheavals on the international markets have caused problems, particularly during the season with the strongest delivery times.

“The quality-oriented milk production of local dairy farmers and the processing in our regionally structured dairies into high-quality dairy products have proven themselves to be crisis-proof and important for secure self-sufficiency in the adverse circumstances of the corona crisis, the dairy industry is thus able to ensure a significant share of the domestic security of food supply,” said president of the Association of Austrian Milk Processors (VÖM), Helmut Petschar, on the subject of food security.

Regionality has again become more important, both in production and in processing. Farmers, dairies, logistics companies and retail employees have done their best to achieve successes in food security, the organisation says.

“For the domestic dairy industry it is important that the right lessons are learned from the coronavirus crisis, which is not yet over: crisis-proof and regionally based food production and processing are very important, and the right political framework must be created for this, furthermore a good partnership with the food trade, so that regional products are offered to the consumers, who decide with their daily purchase decision, which foods we have and where and how we produce them,” stated Petschar.