MPs alert to dairy Shropshire farmers' problems
Dairy farmers need greater protection in the face of sharp falls in the price of milk, MPs have said.
Since last summer the dairy industry has been hit by significant falls in milk prices in the face of rising supply and falling demand, particularly from China and as a result of the Russian trade ban.
The sharp reversal in fortunes, coming after prices hit their highest level for several years, has been driving dairy farmers out of business every week, with the total number in the UK falling to below 10,000 for the first time.
The parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee urged the Government to extend the Groceries Code Adjudicator's (GCA) remit to include dairy farmers in the scheme, which covers suppliers to the big supermarkets and retailers.
MPs also called for ministers to help dairy farmers tap into worldwide export opportunities and press for clearer "country-of-origin" labelling so that consumers know if they really are buying British, and for an EU review of the protection against very low prices.
The committee's chairwoman Anne McIntosh said: "The volatility of worldwide and domestic milk markets is making financial planning and investment impossible for small-scale producers unable to hedge against changes beyond their control.
"The vast majority of dairy farmers fall outside the protection offered by the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
"She can only investigate complaints involving direct suppliers to the big 10 supermarkets and retailers, and as most milk production is small-scale, that excludes most dairy farmers.
"The Efra committee thought that was wrong when the GCA was set up in 2013, and events since then justify our view that her remit should be extended to include small-scale suppliers, whether or not they have a direct relationship with the ultimate seller of their produce."
On Saturday the Shropshire Star revealed environment secretary Elizabeth Truss had pledged she would do more to support those hit by a delay in payments from First Milk.
She said she had spoken to Sir Jim Paice, the chairman of First Milk, to discuss the impact of a two-week hold on payments.
The dairy firm was understood to have been losing 1p on every litre of milk it processed and now hopes to raise £10 million by deferring one of its main costs.
MPs have also called on farmers to consider forming "producer organisations" to increase their clout in the market.
