The UK dairy industry needs to lose its ‘island mentality’ and look for ways to develop if it is to capture its share of growing global markets, according to NFU Scotland.
Speaking at the Dairy Event and Livestock show in Birmingham on Tuesday (6 September), NFUS milk committee chairman Kenneth Campbell said the status quo was not an option for dairy farmers unless they wanted to see problems in the industry worsen.
He said the current state of dairying had delivered poor milk prices, falling producing and a growing trade deficit in dairy produce – something which could not continue if farmers were to prosper in future.
“We have the climate, the technical knowledge and the enthusiasm – we just need the confidence to expand,” he told delegates at an NFUS debate on the dairy industry.
“The global dairy industry is going to change enormously in the next few years.
“The challenge for the whole UK industry is are we going to lose our island mentality and grab a piece of this growth for ourselves, or are we going to stagnate and watch as the rest of the world expands to satisfy increased demand for dairy produce?”
Mr Campbell said the industry urgently needed a strategy for growth in the dairy sector, particularly as the UK was currently 60% self-sufficient in dairy products and the country’s farmers received the worst milk price in Europe.
“There are nations that are approaching 110% in self-sufficiency terms and their producers are receiving 4-6p/litre more than here. That shows what can be achieved,” he added.
“All we require as producers is a pricing mechanism that gives us the confidence to invest, expand and improve the industry.”
NFUS had been in discussion with producers, processors and retailers to find a more formulaic system for pricing milk so UK farmers had more confidence to invest, Mr Campbell said.
“What is clear is that that status quo is neither justifiable nor sustainable. The UK dairy sector must realise there will be political solutions to fix this.
“But we would rather see a positive, commercial solution agreeable to everyone in the UK sector to allow the industry to move forward as one.”
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