Milk prices paid to farmers must be realistic, MPs told

PRICES paid to dairy farmers for their milk must be realistic, First Milk chairman Richard Greenhalgh yesterday told MPs.

He told the all-party parliamentary group for dairy farmers: "Since the publication of our independent report on the rising cost of milk production, we have been inundated with requests to meet with politicians who want to find out more about the research we have commissioned and the influence they can have in achieving a sustainable milk price for producers.

"We are not saying the countryside should become a museum. We simply believe the price paid for milk should be realistic and enable progressive, efficient farmers to flourish.

"We have also been invited to present assembly members in Wales and MSPs in Edinburgh with details of the current situation. These meetings are scheduled for June."

David Kawczynski MP, who chairs the group, said: "I commend First Milk for the work it has done in highlighting the spiralling cost of milk production, and indeed for its ambition to build a progressive dairy company for the benefit of their farmer members.

"Dairy farmers need all the support they can get in Westminster to help them fight their corner, and our group has an important role to play."

Following the announcement this week that Robert Wiseman Dairies was to raise the price paid to its suppliers there is growing pressure on other buyers to move in the same direction.

A spokesperson for First Milk, a farmer-owned business with 2,700 members in Scotland, England and Wales, said: "There are now some signs of movement in the liquid sector and we predict more significant moves.

"These increases are desperately needed to cover escalating costs, or we will see a continuing reduction in the supply base. We are having forthright discussions with our liquid customers to achieve price increases as quickly as possible."