Morrisons is to launch a new milk brand where ten pence-per-litre of the retail price will go directly to dairy farmers .
The new brand “Morrisons Milk for Farmers” will go into all stores in the autumn and is aimed at shoppers who want to directly support dairy farmers. It will sit alongside Morrisons standard-priced own brand milk in the dairy aisle.
Morrisons’ Corporate Services Director Martyn Jones said: “We recognise that the current market for liquid milk is impacting on hardworking dairy farmers and their families. We want to reassure the industry that the retail price we charge for Morrisons milk reflects the highly competitive retail market. It is not linked to the price we pay our milk suppliers.
“We want to offer practical help by launching a range of 4-pint milk at a retail premium of 10p per litre, all of which will be passed back directly to dairy farmers. We will stock this product in all our stores, offering our customers the choice to support dairy farmers directly.”
Morrisons is also today giving more details of how it pays for milk from its majority supplier Arla, which buys milk from farmers.
Martyn Jones said: “We also want to clarify that our current three year contract with Arla, who supply the majority of our milk, uses a cost model that automatically adjusts the price that we pay for milk, based on a combination of the independently set farmgate price and other commodities such as diesel and plastics that influence the cost of milk.
“We can confirm that we have asked our milk suppliers not to pass on further decreases in the current farmgate price to us, but to share any benefit with the dairy farmer instead.”
Full Statement from Morrisons
“We recognise that the current market for liquid milk is impacting on hardworking dairy farmers and their families. We want to help. Firstly, we have asked our milk suppliers not to pass on further decreases in the current farmgate price to us, but to share any benefit with the dairy farmer instead. We want to offer practical help by being the first supermarket to launch a range of 4-pint milk at a premium of 10p per litre, all of which will be passed back directly to Arla farmers. We will stock this product in all our stores, offering our customers the choice to support dairy farmers directly. We also want to clarify that our current three year contract with Arla, who supply the majority of our milk, uses a cost model that automatically adjusts the price that we pay for milk, based on a combination of the independently set farmgate price and other commodities such as diesel and plastics that influence the cost of milk.”
NFU Scotland President, Allan Bowie said:
“Without going further and addressing how it secures its whole dairy category, this announcement from Morrisons falls short of the mark in making a lasting and genuine difference to dairy farmers.
“Rather than tackling the urgent need to look at how it properly shares the risk and reward involved in producing fresh milk, cheese, butter, cream and yoghurts it will give consumers a blunt and uninformed choice of higher priced farmer branded milk sitting side-by-side with Morrisons own-label milk that is still being offered at loss-leading prices.
“While we firmly believe consumers want all dairy farmers to get a fair price, that will be challenging if this is the only change Morrisons intends to make to the way it sources its dairy products.
“This approach falls well short of the challenge laid down by UK Unions yesterday that wholesale changes are needed across all food supply chains to ensure a fair share of risk and reward between retailers, processors and farmers while still offering consumers quality affordable UK produce. That is a challenge we have laid down to all retailers and one which we will be discussing further with them in the very near future.” Ends
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