Milkdown

The meltdown of the small and medium scale livestock and dairy industries in Lebanon: 75% of the farms of the Biqa` in Lebanon are bankrupt. The reason: increase in world feed prices, in vet services, and a non-commensurate increase in bulk milk prices. Why? Because of monopsony: one or two big buyers control all the buying market and can impose low purchasing prices. Another reason: mega investments by a couple of companies who have created large scale dairy farms (one of them owned by a loyalist MP. A nobleman: he is a marquis). These have driven the small and medium farms out of business. Unlike in Argentina (see below), they are not taxed.