"Another kick in the teeth" for dairy farmers
Dairy Crest and First Milk will cut their prices further in 2015.
The dairy crisis has deepened this week as Dairy Crest and First Milk announced they will make further cuts to milk prices this year.
Chairman of the National Farmer's Union dairy board, Rob Harrison, referred to the cuts as "another kick in the teeth" for dairy farmers, who are suffering significant losses with every litre of milk they produce.
From January 3, 2015, Dairy Crest will drop their prices by 1.25 pence per litre (ppl). First Milk will cut theirs by 1 ppl for the liquid pool and 1.1 ppl for the manufacturing pool.
First Milk's chairman Sir Jim Paice MP, said: "Unfortunately market indicators for core dairy products have declined further since the start of November. In order to put our milk prices in line with projected market returns, we need to reduce our milk prices further."
Similarly, Dairy Crest's procurement director Mike Sheldon said the company cannot maintain the current price "against the backdrop of such extreme market volatility and increasing levels of milk production".
Commenting on the news, Mr Harrison said: "I do understand the market fundamentals, but ask this: why do farmers never get the market highs when global commodity prices are at their highest but suffer more than they should when commodity prices hit the floor?
"While the global market situation remains difficult, we need UK processors and retailers to support our farmers in ensuring a long term sustainable future for domestic milk production."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
