New milk price cut blow for dairy farmers
Dairy farmers have been hit with another hammer blow after a major milk processor announced it is to slash the price it pays for milk.
Arla is cutting 0.80p off the price of a litre from August 3, meaning suppliers will receive 23.01p.
But the current cost of production for most farmers is about 30p per litre.
Arla has blamed the "downward price trend" across global milk markets, with high production and low demand from key markets such as Russia and China.
Andy Holloway, who farms in Halfway House, near Shrewsbury, said it was a very worrying time for farmers.
"The costs are still there for farmers but we seem to be the ones at the bottom of the pile," he said.
"If it was under 20p per litre we would seriously wonder whether we could keep going."
Rob Harrison, dairy board chairman at the National Farmers Union, said: "Dairy farmers across the UK are struggling right now and it's not getting any easier. The market outlook for the rest of this year and into 2016 is not positive so we're in for an extremely difficult autumn and winter."
Ash Amirahmadi, head of UK milk and member services at Arla, said: "The situation is not helped by high milk production throughout the world, while demand from China and Russia, in particular, continues to be low."
