At issue is the alert given by the Association of Milk Producers of Portugal (Aprolep) to the risk of failure in the regular supply of fresh milk of local origin, due to the increase in production costs, without a corresponding rise in the price of milk.

Speaking to Lusa news agency, communist deputy João Dias accused the government of “continuing to allow the sector to wither away” and not taking measures.

Among the solutions suggested by the communists are “extraordinary support”, namely to support costs related to animal feed, energy, fertilizers and even the production of hardware.

For the PCP, there is also a need for a market regulation regime: “The Government must take steps with the other member states of the European Union in order to create a market regulation regime, as already existed in the case of quotas”, he pointed out.

According to the deputy, the PCP's suggestions are also intended to "combat the speculation that is made by the distribution chains, because the truth is that the price paid to the producer is very low", pointing out that "the producer is practically paying to work ” while the distribution chains “have a large profit margin”.

The cost of a litre of milk paid to the producer last October in Portugal was 30 cents, while the average paid in the European Union is 38 cents, a price that milk producers demand to be paid to them this November.