Carmarthenshire members call for translation of milk prices

"A welcome sign that must be translated into an immediate increase in producer prices to cover increased production costs," that is how NFU Cymru members in Carmarthenshire have reacted to the decision by Tesco and ASDA to raise the retail liquid Milk Price by 2 pence per pint.

Carmarthen dairy farmer David Jones said, "The NFU has lobbied hard for an increase in milk prices on the back of strong market indicators and rising on-farm costs. It is essential that a fair proportion of this increase is now passed down the supply chain to dairy farmers, to help cover the significant increase in production costs which we estimate at 1.5 ppl."

He continued, "Over the past 12 months rising costs for inputs such as fuel, fertiliser and labour mean that dairy farmers need to see an increase of at least 1.5 pence per litre to cover production costs."

Peter Francis, NFU Cymru County Chairman and a dairy farmer from Kidwelly said, "NFU Cymru hopes that this welcome step is the first encouraging signal of many within the industry. It is vital that dairy farmers continue to receive positive messages if they are to create the platform of a sustainable, long term future for the entire industry."

Summing up Mr Francis said, "It is vital that other retailers follow the lead taken by Tesco and ASDA on liquid milk price increase, and that primary producers see a fair share of this increase. Also to ensure an across the board increase in milk price paid to all dairy farmers we need to see better returns from the cheese market."