Comment on Anticipation and angst as Europe ends milk quotas

Paris (AFP) - European dairy farmers are facing the end of three decades of milk quotas on Wednesday with a mixture of anticipation and angst as it will allow them to serve growing demand in emerging markets, but could also cause a crash in prices.Starting April 1, farmers will be allowed churn out as much milk as they want.While the quotas had been increased in recent years -- growing 1 percent a year between 2009 and 2013 -- the complete liberalisation of the market is seen as a game changer for producers.In northern Europe, farmers have hailed the move as a chance to cash in on the growing global thirst for milk, particularly in China.Ireland has already announced plans to boost its milk output by 50 percent by 2020.