Welsh dairy farmers press Government for end to unfair trading practices

Farmers have voiced their concerns on issues within the dairy industry and highlighted the inadequacy of some dairy contracts
Farmers have voiced their concerns on issues within the dairy industry and highlighted the inadequacy of some dairy contracts

Welsh dairy farmers have pressed the Government for an end to unfair trading practices and for the possibility for the introduction of Dairy Producer Organisations.

Mid Gwynedd dairy farmers have recently met with Sian Gwenllian AM to call for the principles behind the voluntary code of practice for dairy contracts to be made compulsory.

Farmers have voiced their concerns on issues within the dairy industry and highlighted the inadequacy of some dairy contracts. They also expressed their disappointment that not all milk buyers had signed up to the voluntary code of practice for dairy contracts.

Aled Jones NFU Cymru Milk Board Chairman said: “Any falls in world market commodity prices are immediately felt in milk prices but any gains are extremely slow to manifest themselves in prices paid to dairy farmers.

“Too often we see unreasonable conditions placed in contracts and unreasonable notice for specification changes. This really isn’t acceptable and creates great uncertainty, making future planning very difficult for the farmer.

“This is why we’re asking for the principles behind the voluntary code of practice to be made compulsory and for the Grocery Code Adjudicator to have the powers to oversee the code. We want an end to unfair practices and one sided contracts so that we have a level playing field for the whole supply chain.”

Dairy Producer Organisations

The benefits of Dairy Producer Organisations (DPO) have also been discussed at length and how farmers, processors and retailers can best work together.

Aled Jones said: “There is now an opportunity to develop DPOs in Wales and we asked Sian Gwenllian to support the formation of these producer organisations to help combat price volatility that currently exists in the milk sector.

“We have to reverse the trend of people going out of dairy farming by making the sector more attractive. The farming industry supports a myriad of other rural businesses and its importance to the rural economy is clear to see.”

A report from last year shows that European farmers who belong to a DPO have earned better or more stable milk prices for their farmers