SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons has announced a review of its milk buying policy after criticism from farmers that it is not paying a fair price for its pints.
The firm acted after it came under fire along with Asda and the Co-op from 2000 farmers – including many from Scotland – at a protest in London last week. Many fear their livelihoods are at stake after 4p was slashed off farmgate milk prices.
Morrisons said it was looking to improve support for dairy farmers after farmers staged a demonstration at a branch in Welshpool, Powys, over the falling fees for fresh milk. Other direct action is also planned with suggestions that customers may be asked to boycott certain stores that are pushing milk prices down.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We completely understand there is an issue here and we are looking at it to see whether there are other models we can use that better support farmers.
"For Morrisons any solution has to support the whole industry. That's why we pay a 1p per litre premium to our processors which is shared across all farmers without a dedicated contract. We don't engage in the postcode lottery where a few farmers are paid more than the rest."
NFU Cymru dairy board vice-chairman Jonathon Wilkinson said farmers were out of pocket for every drop of milk they produced. He added: "Morrisons, like Asda and the Co-operative, don't ensure that dairy farmers supplying liquid milk get a fair price, they do not even ensure their farmers get a price that covers the farmer's cost of production."
The NFU has called for legislation to ensure contracts are fair but Farm Minister Jim Paice has dismissed the suggestion, insisting a voluntary approach can work better.
Around 40 dairy producers from Scotland last week joined a march on Westminster in protest at milk prices amid claims hundreds of years of traditional dairy production is at risk from weakened supermarket contracts. Farmers blame a complicated pricing structure in a marketplace dominated by the needs of supermarkets to have low prices at the tills.
Over-production of milk has meant the prospect of trader prices reaching as low as 25p a litre by August, while it costs farmers 30p a litre to produce.
Protest group Farmers for Action said last night demonstrations are planned for two areas in the UK over the next 10 days with the targets being kept under wraps at present.
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