The main milk buyer in the north and north-east has announced plans to cut the price it pays farmers for their milk.
Muller has confirmed its standard litre milk price will fall by 1p a litre from February 15.
The company, which recently took over the liquid milk operations of Dairy Crest, blamed high levels of supply from farms coupled with poor demand for dairy commodities for the price cut.
The price reduction will bring the price received by Muller Milk Group, formerly Muller Wiseman Milk Group, to 21.35p a litre.
Producers supplying Muller Direct Milk – farmers down south who previously supplied Dairy Crest Direct – will see their price fall to 20.69p a litre.
“Our strategy is to add value to the milk we buy from the 2,000 dairy farmers who supply us and we remain committed to offering competitive milk prices and contracts. We are very aware of the pressures on farm resulting from the depressed marketplace and have tried to provide stability by maintaining the milk price since September, despite very difficult and declining market conditions,” said the company’s agriculture director, Lyndsay Chapman.
“However, we cannot fully protect our dairy farmer suppliers from the realities of the market which continues to be badly affected by high levels of supply and very weak commodity prices. We have therefore had to reduce the milk prices we pay to our farmers by 1p a litre, providing the required 30 day notice period.”