Milk Prices Driving Farmers Under, MPs Warn

Dairy farmers are being driven out of business every week and need greater protection, MPs have warned.

Milk prices have been hit hard by a Russian trade ban and falling demand from China which saw prices plummet from 34p a litre last year to 20p a litre.

It means the total number of UK dairy farmers has now fallen below 10,000 for the first time.

MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee have said more must be done to help them survive.

Farmers protest over prices in 2012

They want to see the groceries watchdog - the Groceries Code Adjudicator - given the power to punish the big supermarkets if they are found to put pressure on the farmers to drop their prices.

And they have urged ministers to push for clear country of origin labelling so consumers know they are buying British.

The MPs have also suggested farmers consider forming producer organisations to increase their power and influence in the market.

Committee chairwoman Anne McIntosh said: "The volatility of worldwide and domestic milk markets is making financial planning and investment impossible for small-scale producers unable to hedge against changes beyond their control.

"The vast majority of dairy farmers fall outside the protection offered by the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

"She can only investigate complaints involving direct suppliers to the big 10 supermarkets and retailers, and as most milk production is small-scale, that excludes most dairy farmers."

There has been a significant slump in milk prices

A Government spokesman said: "We understand the concerns of British farmers over the current pressures on milk prices caused by the volatility of the global market and we are doing all we can to help manage this.

"This includes giving dairy farmers the opportunity to unite in producer organisations so they have greater clout in the marketplace.

"We have also brokered a dairy industry code of practice on contractual relationships to improve transparency and give farmers a fairer deal, which now covers 85% of UK dairy production."

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