Wiseman plans to cut milk price

22 May 2001



Wiseman plans to cut milk price

By FWi staff

SCOTTISH Dairy giant Robert Wiseman plans to cut the price it pays to farmers, reports The Independent.

The newspaper reports that Wiseman is reviewing supplier rates because “the relatively high price we pay to our farmers results in us becoming uncompetitive”.

Wiseman increased its payments in April by 2ppl, taking the price to 20.75ppl, but other companies announced smaller increases.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that Wiseman has bought Lordswood Dairy for 2 million in a move to increase production at its Droitwich dairy.

The Droitwich plant in the West Midlands has capacity for 200m litres and is operating at 50m litres below this.

Purchasing Lordswood, a loss-making milk distributor based in south-west England will fit Wiseman plans to expand its network further into the UK.

On Monday (21 May), Wiseman announced a rise in turnover in the year to 31 March from 287m to 300m.

Earlier this month the Office of Fair Trading raided Wiseman offices because it had “reasonable grounds to suspect infringements of the Competition Act”.

Wiseman said it was disappointed as it reported frequently to the OFT, and was co-operating with an OFT request for information.

A Competition Commission inquiry last year found that Wiseman did have a monopoly in Scotland that could operate against the public interest.

However, trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers that no action was to be taken because less than two-thirds of the inquiry group supported the conclusion.

• OFT inspectors raid Wiseman office, FWi, 17 May, 2001
• Dairy to escape action following monopoly probe, FWi, 05 January, 2001
• Milk price review, May for March 2001 deliveries (large file – allow time to download)
  
• Financial Times, 22 May, 2001, page 30
  
• The Independent, 22 May, 2001, page 16
  

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