Major dairy buyer to pay lower price for raw milk - Dispatch Online- Cash Pay
A WARMER winter, unexpected dairy surpluses and cash- strapped consumers have pushed the market price of milk down this season. But the storm clouds are gathering again over the dairy industry, with farmers saying a recent move by major buyer Parmalat to reduce the price they pay for raw milk by 25 cents could be “catastrophic” for them. The price reduction comes at a time when producer prices have increased by approximately 35% year-on-year, feed costs have increased by approximately 60%, diesel costs by 63%, fertilis er costs by 170%, electricity costs by 27%, and labour costs by more than 10%. Yesterday Parmalat said the price reduction for raw milk was to “compensate” for the combination of rising input costs, slowing consumer spending and high interest rates. An East London dairy farmer, who did not want to be named, said Parmalat’s price reduction could turn out to be “catastrophic” for farmers. Etienne Terre’Blanche, managing director of the Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) said they were concerned about the future of dairy farmers, especially that well-known milk producers with big and established dairy farms were giving up milking because they could no longer produce milk profitably. Find Out More
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