Cost of milk up as Morrisons breaks ranks

THE cost of milk is likely to rise after one of the ‘ big four’ supermarkets announced it was increasing prices.

Morrisons increased the price of a four-pint bottle from £1 to £1.10. Its flagship Milk for Farmers brand four-pint bottle also rose, from £1.23 to £1.33. The move was welcomed by the National Farmers’ Union, which said the new price was closer to ‘reflecting the true cost of milk production’.

Industry experts say other supermarket chains are highly likely to follow.

The 10p rise represents the biggest increase since 2014, when supermarkets – including the big four of Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco and Asda – began a long price war. It follows a sustained period of lower supply.

Although average milk deliveries have risen in recent months, they are still nearly 6 per cent down on 2015.

At the same time, the average farm gate price – the price of a product when it leaves farms – among smaller suppliers rose by 44 per cent.

A Morrisons spokesman said it had tried to keep prices down but had to respond to ‘ongoing cost pressures’.