Thousands of farmers will descend on Brussels on Monday to protest about falling dairy and meat prices as European ministers hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in the agriculture industry.

An estimated 4,000 farmers, including some from Britain, plan to march through the centre of Brussels on Monday to highlight the pressure they are under from falling prices.

Elizabeth Truss, the environment secretary, will represent Britain at a meeting of European farming ministers in Brussels called to discuss ways to alleviate the pressure on farmers.

Truss has pledged to push for the creation of a new futures and insurance market in dairy products so that farmers can insure themselves against price fluctuations.

The National Farmers Union has said dairy farmers face a “state of emergency” after a 25% fall in the wholesale price of milk in the past year. The average farmgate price of milk stands at 23.35p a litre, below the estimated cost of production of 30p a litre.

Farmers in Europe have also been hit by falling in milk prices, as well as a drop in the price of lamb.

Meurig Raymond, NFU president, will hold talks with Truss after the meeting. Raymond wants long-term contracts between farmers and supermarkets to be introduced and for the government to force retailers to improve the labelling of their products so shoppers can see where food has been sourced.

Raymond said: “Farmers need the secretary of state to strongly stand up for British farming interests in Europe. “We need the European commission to implement measures to ease cash flow difficulties and strengthen safety nets.

“British farmers need the GSCOP [the UK’s Groceries Supply Code of Practice] and groceries code adjudicator to stamp out unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. I want that same protection offered by other member states when British farmers trade with European retailers.”

Farmers in Britain blame supermarkets for the slide in milk prices. They claim milk has been used as a weapon in the industry price war and that retailers are not doing enough to promote British-sourced products. In protest they have blockaded distribution centres and herded two cows through an Asda store in Stafford.

In response, supermarkets have claimed the fall is the result of an oversupply of milk in Europe, but they have bowed to pressure from farmers on a number of issues. Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl have increased the amount they pay, and Tesco has agreed to use only British milk in its own-brand yoghurts instead of importing from Germany, as it had done previously.