Milk quota demand rises in England and Wales
Milk quota prices in England and Wales have doubled in the past six weeks to between 0.2-0.25p/litre as demand has risen.
Values had been stuck at 0.1p/litre since August last year and the rise in demand has puzzled agents. However, one reason may be consultant advice to tidy up quota holdings in the run-up to the end of the milk quota regime, said Julia Clark of Townsend Chartered Surveyors.
Mrs Clark has customers for 9m litres of quota, but a shortage of quota for sale, with the most recent sale a couple of weeks ago at 0.2p/litre.
This was for 4.12% butterfat and now looked cheap, she said.
Demand was coming from across England and Wales, some of it from new start-ups.
The picture was quite different in Scotland, with quota available, but not much demand, said Andrew Macfarlane of CKD Galbraith. He puts the value at about 0.2p/litre in a quiet market.