Efficiency losses in milk marketing boards : the importance of exports

Abstract

A milk marketing board (MMB) is a well known instrument for regulating the markets for dairy products. MMBs are based on price discrimination, and receipts from sales are pooled so that the farmers receive a single price adjusted for composition and quality. Using a numerical model, we find that the economic welfare cost of the Norwegian MMB, is as much as 26.3% of the milk production value. This computed cost is far larger than for the other countries with MMBs. The main reasons are that exports are a major ingredient of the Norwegian system, and that production costs are very high.