According to a recent report by market research company Gira, the ten new European Union member states will add no more than 12 per cent to the overall levels of EU cheese production. Out of this 12 per cent Poland alone accounts for half, and it seems likely that the eastern countries will continue to play a subservient role and western companies will dominate the newly opened markets. The western' states strength will be in three main areas. Firstly, in legal terms, the quota system will limit possible exports by limiting milk availability overall, and specifically for milk of EU quality. In industrial terms, western, and particularly French and German cheese producers, are accelerating and modernising eastern countries' production range packaging and operating efficiency both for the companies they acquire and for their immediate competitors.
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