Malta Dairy Products (MDP), the producer of the popular Benna range of milks, yoghurts and cheeses, has hit back at allegations that it imports its milk from Sicily, saying that it in fact “proudly exports” its milk to Italy.

A social media post on Thursday morning (today) asked why the Benna milk bowser is frequently seen using the catamaran to Sicily, prompting several commenters to speculate that the company is importing milk to keep up with the demand generated by Malta’s growing population.

“Because they bring the milk from there [Sicily],” said one Facebook user. “How do you think the few cows left in Malta are able to produce enough milk every day to meet the demand of hotels, bars, businesses and families?”

However, MDP promptly responded to the allegation by stating that all the milk it uses is produced locally.

“All Benna milk comes from 79 local farms in Malta and Gozo,” it said, “where we work closely with dedicated dairy farmers to bring you fresh and high quality milk every day.”

It pointed out that the bowsers of milk traversing the channel between Sicily and Malta are actually used to bring its Maltese milk to Italian customers.

“Our milk is so high quality that even Italy buys from us, and are proud to deliver it to them.”

The Benna producer also noted that the same allegation – and indeed, the very same photo, showing a Benna bowser in Sicily – had been posted online in 2022, with the same allegations being made.

At the time, it had responded by saying that the milk sold abroad is surplus to local requirements.

Drop in number of dairy farms

MDP’s replies to the posts, two years apart, also revealed a decline in the number of dairy farms, which dropped by eight per cent from 86 in 2022 to 79 this year.

Last year’s Budget allocated €6 million to “dairy industry restructuring”, to help those running unsustainable farms to wind down their operations and exit the sector.

Although dairy farms are not the commonest of sights in Malta, they have an outsized impact on the landscape, their operations – and buffer zones – accounting for 59 per cent of all agricultural land in Malta in 2020.