Milk Prices Increase in UK 

27/08/07 From October 1, 2007 Arla Foods UK will pay 25 pence per litre milk supplied by its supply group, Arla Foods Milk Partnership. This is a rise of 4.95 pence.

One of the reasons for the price increase to Arla Foods’ UK milk suppliers is the continued strength in the commodity markets.

"We recognise that the situation remains highly volatile and we will continue to monitor developments in the marketplace to ensure that Arla Foods’ milk price as always reflects current market conditions in the UK," said Business Group Director Peter Walker, who is responsible for milk procurement. He added that Arla Foods in the UK wished to improve prices via one major increment rather than a series of small adjustments to milk prices over a period.

This increase means that from October 1, Arla Foods UK will pay the same milk price as the other leading dairy companies in the UK, which recently raised the price to 25p.

"Work continues across the Group to adjust prices in the respective markets, not just in the UK," said Peder Tuborgh, CEO, Arla Foods. "In a number of our other markets, we’re in the process of implementing a third and fourth price adjustment this year."

Meanwhile Peter Humphries, chief executive of First Milk, the UK’s largest dairy-farmer cooperative was quoted in The Times as saying that recent price rises could signal a reversal of the industry’s long decline. Mergers were “key” to the industry’s future, he said.

A report produced for First Milk by Promar International, the food-industry consultant, points out that the turnround in prices has happened “in just a few short months”. The rapid rise in international prices meant there would have to be further rises in the prices paid to British farmers if UK milk supplies were to be guaranteed, the report said.