Arla announces further milk price decline for March

Arla's milk prices will tumble even further as the co-operative has announced a 3.52p per litre decrease for March.

The co-op's milk prices for March 2023 will decrease for both conventional and organic milk, to 44.95ppl and 49.73ppl respectively.

The dairy cooperative, which is supplied by 3,000 UK farmers, warned that consistently high inflation continued to drive a reduction in consumer demand.

Arla added that shoppers were set to lower their overall grocery spend.

“Additional milk volumes are driving a continued decrease in commodity prices and the prices for EU and world commodities are now, broadly, on par," said Arla Foods director, Arthur Fearnall.

"Consumer consumption for organic is also continuing to react to the high inflationary landscape. The outlook is negative.”

Paul Savage, agriculture director for Arla UK, added that the uncertain economic outlook meant Arla was currently facing a 'challenging' commodity market.

“As the cost of living crisis continues consumers are buying less and, as a result, we have seen a reduction in European dairy consumption by approximately 5%.

"The economic outlook remains uncertain and while we have seen the first signs of stabilisation in the Global Dairy Trade, we are still facing a challenging commodity market, especially as milk volumes continue to increase overall."

First Milk has also announced a substantial milk price fall for March, declining by 4p per litre.

The move means its milk price on a manufacturing standard litre will sit at 45.69p per litre, including the member premium.