ARLA chief to leave post

NEIL DAVIDSON will be stepping down as chief executive of Arla Foods UK at the end of the company’s financial year on Sept 30.

His departure will coincide with the completion of the integration of Express Dairies, which he headed, and Arla Foods after their merger in 2003.

Mr Davidson said processing costs had increased by the equivalent of 1p/litre over the past few months and the company would be trying to recover this from the market.

Ex-farm milk prices would remain unchanged until Apr 1, when they would be reviewed, he added.