Milk price blow for farmers with Müller contract
Dairy farmers supplying Müller will be hit by a 1p/litre price cut for the milk they produce in December, the processor has confirmed.
This decrease will take the Müller Direct standard litre price down to 28.5p/litre, with the change coming into force from December 1.
It follows three consecutive months in which the dairy giant, which sources milk from around 1,900 farms in the UK, has kept its farmgate milk price unchanged.
Rob Hutchinson, Müller milk supply director, said: “In the context of a sustained decline in returns from markets for cream and butter, a 3% reduction in our farm gate milk is a proportionate response.
“Muller is a resilient business but we cannot ignore significant changes in the markets we serve. We place importance on doing what we can to protect farmers from the effects of extreme market volatility.”
He added: “That is why we have options in place for farmers who want to hedge against market movements including the Muller Direct Fixed Price Contract and the Muller Direct Futures Contract.”
Meanwhile Somerset-based dairy processor Barber’s has announced it will be holding its current milk price for December, despite fragility in the marketplace.
The Cheddar cheesemakers, who recently won two golds at the 2018 World Cheese Awards in Norway, said it will keep its standard litre price at 29.8p/litre, maintaining the same price for the fourth consecutive month.
According to the latest figures from Defra, released at the end of last month, the UK average farmgate milk price for September 2018 was 30.63p/litre, which represents a 3.2% (0.96p/litre) increase on August 2018 and a 0.6% rise on the same month last year.