MM lifts July milk price to aid dairy incomes
MM lifts July milk price to aid dairy incomes
MILK Marque has raised its prices for the July selling round by up to 2p/litre, one of several changes to try to raise producer incomes.
"Consumer prices today are virtually the same as they were a year ago, while farmers returns have plummeted. We need to start putting this right," says managing director, Paul Beswick.
The 90% rule has also been removed, so Milk Marque will not have to re-offer milk at a lower price if buyers bid for less than that % in any selling round.
Basic structure has been simplified to four main contract types. Two residual contracts have been discontinued, and replaced with a new "varying supply" contract, to give a greater certainty of supply to buyers.
A new Capacity contract will also address buyers concerns over prices and currency volatility. Here, Milk Marque retains ownership of milk, but pays the buyer 3.7p/litre to convert it into butter or skim milk powder. The maker can then buy these products, or leave Milk Marque to sell it.
A total of 13.6m litres a day is on offer on six-month contracts commencing Oct 1998. For additional flexibility, another 1m-2m litres a day will be offered on daily and monthly short-term markets. *