Dairy Crest announces consultation on proposed closure of Proper Welsh Milk dairy

Dairy Crest announced it is starting a consulting on the proposed closure of its Proper Welsh Milk dairy in Whitland, Carmarthenshire, but said producers supplying the dairy would not be affected, and their milk will now be processed at the company’s Severnside site near Bristol.

Proper Welsh Milk dairy was bought by Dairy Crest in March after it fell into administration, but Dairy Crest said the dairy’s production volumes had fallen short of expectations and significant investment would be needed to bring the site up to standards. The dairy will close at the end of January if no suitable options are found.

The consultation will involve the dairy’s current 31 employees and producers who wish to input to the consultation should contact their Dairy Crest account manager.

“We are disappointed that it has not been possible to make a success of Proper Welsh, but lower sales and higher costs mean it is not possible to operate the site economically,” said Mark Allen, chief executive of Dairy Crest. “We remain committed to the Welsh dairy sector and are continuing to recruit farmers and invest in milk collection facilities around Carmarthen.”

Farmers Union Wales said the closure would be a major body blow for the region’s capacity to process milk locally.

“There is already a lack of processing capacity for milk in Wales and this move, so soon after Dairy Crest took over the dairy, comes at a time when there are increasing calls for more local processing,” said Brian Walters, FUW vice-president and dairy farmer.

“As a local dairy farmer I think it is a great pity because we need more processing capacity in Wales, not less, to help cut down on food miles and prepare ourselves for the abolition of milk quota in 2015.

“If we are hoping to produce more milk in the future to meet an expanding market, we need to be able to access more processing capacity locally, not further away.”

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