Milk wars will ‘stifle’ dairy sector investment
Richard Wood, site director at Severnside in Gloucestershire, told FoodManufacture.co.uk in this exclusive video that promotions selling four pints of milk for £1 presented a challenge to the industry.
“Farmers will take the decision to go out of milk production, as many have previously, if the returns aren’t in there,” said Wood.
Milk processors would not be able to invest in their facilities and it would become increasingly harder for the industry to attract new talent, if returns on milk were not high enough, he added.
‘Consequences need to be felt’
“I recognise that the retailer will always want to gain an advantage on its competitors and is using milk to do that at the moment. But the subsequent consequences of that needed to be felt and understood.”
Consumers also needed to understand how they could influence the price of milk and help drive up its value, added Wood.
Watch this video to hear how Dairy Crest responded to dairy farmer protests over milk prices last year.
Meanwhile, subscribe to Food Manufacture to read an exclusive interview with Wood in the July issue.
