German dairy farmers called off a milk-deliveries boycott Thursday after their 10-day strike prompted big grocery chains to offer higher wholesale rates for milk and pass this on to shoppers, according to dpa. Romuald Schaber, president of the BDM dairy farmers' association, told thousands of farmers gathered at Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate, "I ask you to resume delivering milk from this evening. The last bastion among the discount grocers will fall soon." One major discount grocer, Lidl, had said the previous evening it would hike the retail price of packed milk. One of two companies that control the Aldi chain of discount supermarkets said it too would discuss a price increase. With backing from farmers in neighbouring nations, many German farmers have poured fresh milk down drains, into fields or into feed troughs since May 27 to underline their demand for at least 43 euro cents (62 dollar cents) per litre for milk at the farm gate.
