First Milk to hold January milk price as downward pressure continues

First Milk is owned by British farmers
First Milk is owned by British farmers

First Milk has held its milk price for January despite downward pressure in market which has seen others reduce their price.

British farmer-owned First Milk has announced that it will be maintaining its current milk price for January 2018, despite the downward pressure in the marketplace.

Commenting on the announcement, Jim Baird, Farmer Director and Vice-Chairman of First Milk, said: “Dairy markets have weakened recently and so the outlook for the UK market continues to worsen.

“Whilst we cannot buck the markets, we will continue to work hard to reduce the impact of milk price reductions for our members as much as possible.

“We will do this through our focus on efficiency and quality, and by building on our strong, long-term relationships to deliver competitive returns to our members.”

The NFU is expecting to meet with Muller this week following its decision to slash the its January milk price paid to its farmers.

The farming union said it was "shocked" by the steep price cut of 1.5p per litre that Muller will be imposing on it supplying farmers come January 2018 and is looking for an explanation from the processor.

Meadow Foods will also be decreasing its 'A' milk price by 1.25 pence per litre to 29.75ppl from January 2018.