Environment Secretary in pledge to Shropshire farmers over milk cash row
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss has told farmers in Shropshire and Mid Wales that she will do more to support those hit by a delay in payments from First Milk.
She responded after Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski submitted a written parliamentary question to ask her what steps she is taking to support British dairy industry producers.
She said she had spoken to Sir Jim Paice, the chairman of First Milk, to discuss the impact of a two-week hold on payments.
The dairy firm was understood to have been losing 1p on every litre of milk it processed and now hopes to raise £10 million by deferring one of its main costs.
The minister said: "I have spoken to the chairman of First Milk to discuss the recent announcement on milk prices and the impact this will have on farmers. We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with milk industry experts to consider if any further action is appropriate.
"I will continue to work closely with the dairy industry as a whole to manage price volatility."
Farmers are facing the worst crisis in years after the price of milk fell to just 22p a pint – now at its lowest level in seven years.
Mr Kawczynski says he is concerned with the way they are being squeezed by supermarkets. He says it is an area in which the Groceries Code Adjudicator – formed in 2013 to protect grocery suppliers – should be intervening.
"At the moment the supermarkets are behaving in quite an extreme way, they are driving down the price of milk to the point where many of the producers are suffering quite badly," he said.
Matt Jones, of Lower Grimmer Farm, Minsterley, near Shrewsbury, who currently milks about 215 cows, said: "Supermarkets are totally to blame. They have been selling milk too cheap for too long and are trying to recoup some of their costs."
