The fortunes of the beleaguered dairy sector could be turning with news the main milk buyer in the UK is once more holding its milk price.
In recent months, dairy farmers have felt the pressure of falling milk prices driven by a mass of milk on the market and poor global demand for dairy products.
European co-operative Arla, which buys milk from one in four UK dairy farmers, this week suggested the start of a turnaround for the sector.
The firm, which produces Lurpak, Anchor and Cravendale, said it will hold its on-account milk price for March, after doing the same this month.
A change to the 2015 forecasted 13th payment will actually bring the price up by 0.1p to 24.97p a litre.
The 13th payment is paid to all farmer members of the co-operative at the end of March, based on the previous year’s milk price.
The dairy’s head of milk and member services at Arla Foods UK, Ash Amirahmadi said: “The Global Dairy Trade auction has continued to follow a firm upward trend and this could have a knock-on effect on other markets over the coming months.
“Although global supply and demand so far this year is more in balance, it is too early to predict whether this trend will continue in a sustainable way. One of the key factors influencing this is the level of EU milk production post April, following the abolition of quotas.”
Last week a Scottish Parliament committee, which launched an urgent inquiry into the dairy crisis last month, delivered its findings in a 15-page letter to farm minister Richard Lochhead.
Holyrood’s rural affairs, climate change and environment committee (Racce) called for more to be done to boost sales of Scottish dairy produce and reduce the burden of transport costs to remote and island dairy farmers.
It called for a Team Scotland approach to selling Scottish dairy produce both at home and abroad, and for more transparency with prices paid by processors and supermarkets to boost trust in the supply chain.
“Customers have a right to know how much the retailers they buy their dairy products from have paid to the producers of those products,” said the committee.
Last month the Press and Journal launched a campaign to support struggling dairy farmers.