Arla raises farmgate milk price

Milk processor Arla has announced a 2.5p/litre increase in its farmgate milk price.


The price rise will be introduced on 1 October and will take Arla’s standard litre price to 29.5p.


The move is a reversal of 2p/litre cuts which were introduced on 1 June.


A statement from Arla says: “It is confirmed that with effect from 1 October, Arla’s standard litre price will be 29.5p/litre for AFMP members in the non-aligned, Asda and Tesco seasonal milk pools.


“The Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group and Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group milk prices will continue to be formulated in accordance with the existing pricing models.”


Arla’s head of milk procurement, Ash Amirahmadi gave credit to the Dairy Coalition of farming unions and industry bodies.


Mr Amirahmadi said: “The coalition has been successful in raising public awareness of the plight of farmers in a way that we couldn’t.


“We believe it is our duty to take over the baton and deliver a price and a sustainable sourcing strategy that step changes the returns for our members, restores confidence and takes a major step in moving Arla Food Milk Partnership towards the cooperative model of Arla Foods amba, where all farmers benefit equally from the returns from our customers.”


He added: “We thank our strategic customers for their significant support and trust in helping us make this happen. We could not have achieved this without their help.”


Reacting to the news, a spokesman for Robert Wiseman Dairies said: “We would never comment on milk price moves by competitors.”


But he said: “We are attuned to the market and as soon as conditions allow we will look to return a higher milk price.”


For more on this topic


Read about Arla’s spring price cuts


See our milk price cuts crisis page


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