Muller increases milk price paid to farmers
Muller Wiseman is to raise the price paid to farmers for a litre of milk, the firm announced today.
The firm revealed a new price of 32.50 pence per litre will be paid to farmers from October 21, with an extra penny for the majority who have hit production targets.
As the announcement was made, the head of the negotiating body for Muller's suppliers hit out at activist groups behind blockades in Shropshire last week.
Farmers For Action held its latest protest over the price paid for the raw product at Muller's Market Drayton dairy early last week, with 60 campaigners preventing lorries from leaving.
Roddy Catto, chairman of the Müller Wiseman Milk Group which represents dairy farmers, said: "Whilst protests organised by the dairy coalition were more understandable in 2012, blockades in Shropshire in the past week were counter-productive.
"We stressed to FFA organisers that we were at an advanced stage in our discussions with the company and made it clear that threatening serious disruption was against our advice, and more importantly, potentially damaging to our farmers' interests.
"This was ignored and as a result, progress was halted and valuable time was wasted because the company's focus was taken away from discussions and on to issues like farm collections and deliveries to customers."
The cost of production is estimated to be close to 32.5p per litre, meaning the new price rise brings Muller's producers on to an even keel.
Those who sell milk to the yoghurts giant through its alternative formula-based contract will receive 34.55p per litre between October and the end of the year, but because it is based on global stock markets, that price is volatile.
Farmers For Action reacted furiously to the statement, however, with chairman David Handley saying his own discussions with Mr Catto before last week's protests showed little sign of resolving the dispute. The statement infuriated many farmers, he said, insisting that he was having the quell demands for fresh protests against the chairman's words.
He added: "The formula is clearly showing the price paid should be 34.55p. Farmers are expected to carry on producing milk but not reinvesting in their businesses.
"Providing Muller indicates to us there will be more money coming then we will not protest, but the minute they put the brakes on again and go back to where they were then it's very simple - there will be more protests."
Martin Armstrong, of Muller, said: "We are committed to offering a competitive proposition and a choice of contracts to dairy farmers and to pursuing a business strategy which is designed to create new opportunities to add value to milk produced by British farmers."
