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Direct Action is Last Resort for Dairy Producers Protesting Low Milk Price

Posted on: Friday, 19 August 2005, 09:00 CDT

DAIRY farmers were out in force again yesterday across most of the UK, picketing processing centres in protest at low milk prices.

They would appear to have cause for protest, given that in a typical supermarket a litre of bottled water is selling for 69p, while the same volume of milk is priced at around 60p.

The producer is, at best, receiving only 18p per litre for milk when it leaves the farm.

The cost of production is estimated at 19p per litre.

In Scotland pickets were out at Mauchline, Sorn, Stepps, East Kilbride, Stranraer and Lockerbie.

Plants at Nairn and Aberdeen were not targeted.

The future of the Nairn plant, operated by Arla, has been in doubt for some time, while the viability of the Robert Wiseman facility in Aberdeen has been questioned since the company lost the contract to supply Asda in Scotland.

The supermarkets have been repeatedly warned that unless farmers are paid a significantly higher price there is a real risk of a shortage of milk.

That contention is supported by the provisional wholesale milk deliveries for July.

These show that at 1162 million litres, July deliveries were down by 40 million litres on the same month last year, and, more pertinently, were the lowest for seven years.

That may be good news in the medium to longer term, according to Kevin Hawkins, director-general of the British Retail Consortium, the organisation which represents all the major retailers.

While sympathetic to the problems of individual farmers, Hawkins stressed that it was essential to look at the wider picture. He said:

"This has been an on-going problem for at least seven years. Milk production has remained broadly stable, yet consumers have gradually been drinking less milk.

"Yes, there have been several initiatives to raise the retail price and pass that back to farmers. Unfortunately some of the extra money appears to have got stuck to the sides in the chain between farmers and consumers. I do not believe that is the fault of the major supermarkets, but it could be the medium-sized players who have gained."

That analysis cuts no ice with John Cumming, Scottish joint co- ordinator of Farmers for Action who led yesterday's protest. He said: "The last rise in the retail price was in the order of 3p to 4p per litre, but farmers only got 0.3p of that.

"We know what the figures are and it is plain that supermarkets are getting a margin of up to 24p. That quite simply is not fair. We also know from talking to consumers that they are beginning to understand our problems."

The fact that the Office of Fair Trading recently ruled that the supermarkets were abiding to an agreed code of practice has enraged farmers.

The issue has been taken up by the Forum of Private Business. Victoria Carson, of FPB, said: "We speak to suppliers every week who tell us that the greed-driven bullying tactics of the supermarkets are fatally undermining their businesses."

John Kinnaird, president of NFU Scotland, has been highly supportive of milk producers, and he is also critical of the multiples. He said: "It is scandalous that the dairy industry has been driven to the point where farmers feel their only chance of getting a fair price is to take direct action.

"Until the big supermarkets start looking past their next shareholder statement and really work with processors to deliver better prices to farmers, we will have the nightmare scenario of milk shortages."

Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

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