Apologies for the DM source,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2904107/Store-wars-drive-milk-record-low-farmers-warning-dairy-industry-faces-extinction-prices-continue-fall.html
The price of milk has fallen to just 22p a pint thanks to a fierce war between supermarkets.
Farmers have warned the UK dairy industry faces extinction if retailers continue to drive down the price – now at its lowest level in seven years.
Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Iceland are selling four pints of milk for just 89p, while Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are not far behind at £1.
Pint for pint, milk is now cheaper than mineral water in most supermarkets.
Retailers insist they are funding the cost of the price reduction from their own profits, rather than paying farmers less. Many supermarkets have guaranteed the price farms receive will stay above the cost of production.
But farmers say the price war is also devaluing milk as a product at a time when they are under unprecedented pressure.
They are worried smaller shops without fair deals in place will try to match supermarket prices, driving down the cost further.
The global price of milk has collapsed in the past three months, meaning British farmers also receive less for milk they export.
Some are now being paid less than 20p a litre (11.4p a pint) – the lowest price in a decade and far lower than the sum it costs them to produce the milk.
According to the Fail, supermarkets are paying farmers for four pints as follows: ASDA and Morrisons, 56p. Iceland, Aldi, Lidl, 56p-59p. Sainsbury’s 72p. Tesco 73p. M&S 78p. (Waitrose refused to confirm.)
I was curious about the claim that “Retailers insist they are funding the cost of the price reduction from their own profits, rather than paying farmers less” so I asked a friend who happens to be a dairy farmer whether this was true. This is what I was told:
no, its not true. Farmers have taken quite a few cuts this year. Now what they are paid is below the cost of production. It looks like First Milk is now going titsup, so another producer bites the dust. They are being screwed by the supermarkets too. Something is going to have to happen before we lose even more farms. Otherwise we’ll have to rely on imports. These are cheaper because other countries subsidise their farmers, and don’t have such high welfare standards as us.
…
We make a fuss, we get an increase of a few pence if we’re lucky, that keeps us going and gives us hope, and within six months they drop the price again because the processors have sourced more cheap dried milk imports. They just don’t value the farmers at all. Therefore the youngsters move off, because they want money for their kids education, marriages, funerals, holidays and the normal things everyone needs money for. In the old days they could do without money, but not any longer. Its criminal that bottled water costs more than milk.
So the moral of this story is; if you value home industry, locally sourced produce, animal welfare and all that good stuff, consider getting your milk locally.