Farming unions have called on milk processors to raise farmgate
milk prices, after some of the UK's largest processors announced
strong financial results for the past six months.
Dairy Crest made
a pre-tax profit for the half-year of £34m, up from £28.4m, while
Robert Wiseman Dairies' six-month interim report said profit
before tax had increased 81% from £11.6m to £21m.
Milk Link this week also
reported "satisfactory" half-year profit before tax of £4.9m.
"The dairy industry needs strong, vibrant and successful milk
processors, but equally, it needs a core of profitable, confident
dairy farmers as its foundation,"
NFU Scotland milk committee
chairman, Jimmy Mitchell, said.
"With wholesale markets for cream, powders and butter soaring,
cheese imports dropping and liquid milk consumption growing, we
feel it is high time this was reflected in the prices being paid
back to those producing."
Dairy Crest said it would pass some of the higher cream returns
back to farmers in the form of a 0.2p/litre "market adjustment"
bonus for milk supplied in November. It has also hinted a similar
or slightly higher bonus could be paid next month.
"Dairy Crest's liquid suppliers will be extremely pleased with
this payment, and will appreciate that it has been backdated to
reflect the continued strength we've seen in the cream and butter
markets," NFU dairy
board chairman Gwyn Jones commented. "I hope that the farmers
representing Arla and Wiseman suppliers will be just as successful
at getting cream price increases passed back to farmers
promptly."
But, Eifion Huws from the
Farmers' Union of Wales
accused some processors of "crying wolf" and making excuses for not
passing increases back to producers.
He said Defra's average UK farmgate price in September of
24.05p/litre was still 2.5p/litre lower than September last year,
despite an upturn in world and EU prices since then. "If processors
don't play their part they may soon discover most of their loyal
suppliers have disappeared altogether."
Read more about dairy markets in Phil Clarke's Business Blog at
www.fwi.co.uk/blogs/agribusiness
