Morrisons praised for raising milk price
The retailer promised to lift its retail price for its four pints of milk product from 89p to £1 and its Milk For Farmers range from £1.12 to £1.23.
The move was welcomed by the National Farmers Union (NFU), with its diary board chairman Rob Harrison saying Morrisons had moved up the table in their support for dairy farmers.
“However, there are still a few retailers languishing behind on the support they provide to guarantee high quality British dairy products every day of the year,” Harrison said.
Real issue
“With only half our total milk volume going into liquid milk we need to focus on adding value and supporting farmers producing milk for other dairy products. A real issue, as seen by the recent farmgate price drops from a number of cheddar producers, is cheese.”
Morrisons' milk price hike
- Standard Milk 4 pints from 89p to £1
- Milk for Farmers 4 pints from £1.12 to £1.23
The NFU’s president Meurig Raymond praised Morrisons’ Milk For Farmers range for helping consumers support the dairy farming industry and increase the sustainable price back to the farm.
“We now need to ensure that farmers supplying milk for all dairy products are treated fairly during this difficult market situation,” he added.
Milk For Farmers was launched in October and promised to pay the extra 10p it cost compared with its standard milk back to the farmer.
Morrisons’ customers were now ready to pay more for milk to support the dairy sector, its dairy director Rick Bourne claimed.
“Combined with the launch of Milk for Farmers range, which is now nearly three times more popular than Evian in our stores, we are doing our bit to support the dairy industry at this difficult time,” he said.
Trust and identify sustainability
Morrisons will also mark all own-label milk supplied by Arla so that consumers can identify and trust where it is sourced.
The mark will also highlight that all the profits go back to the owners and that the highest animal welfare and environmental standards have been met throughout the supply chain, Morrisons claimed.
Arla Foods amba farmer board director Jonathan Owens said: “As dairy farmers, we welcome the news from Morrisons at a time of an unprecedented pressure for dairy farmers. We appreciate the continued commitment that Morrisons has given to our cooperative and its principles.”
