Dairy industry leaders will gather at Holyrood on Tuesday to discuss ways to help the ailing sector.
A summit chaired by Farm Minister Richard Lochhead will be attended by government officials, NFU Scotland, processors, retailers and representatives from the finance sector.
Mr Lochhead said the closed meeting was being called to ascertain what more government could do to help the sector and to build on the progress made under the government’s dairy action plan.
“Scotland has an envied reputation for the quality of our food and we produce some excellent cheeses, butter and milk. However, our dairy sector is facing a number of on-going challenges including low prices which have resulted in hardship for many producers,” said Mr Lochhead.
“I recognise that much of the current difficulty stems from unfavourable global market conditions but I believe that progress can be made on a number of areas that, collectively, would help increase resilience of the sector, which is why I am inviting key industry figures to meet me to discuss what further steps that can be taken to help the sector, building on the dairy action plan I published last year.”
Mr Lochhead also confirmed that government would provide an additional £30,000 of funding to dairy farmers on the Isle of Bute to go towards the cost of tankers returning empty on ferries to Bute from the mainland.
The government’s dairy action plan, which was launched in March last year, focuses on five key areas – market development, promoting best practice in dairy farming, promoting a transparent and efficient supply chain, supporting troubled dairy farmers’ co-operative First Milk in transforming its operations in Scotland and “getting international rules right”.
Outcomes from the action plan so far have included the creation of a Scottish Dairy Brand to increase awareness of the sector overseas and the establishment of a dairy growth board for Scotland.
NFU Scotland’s milk committee chairman, Graeme Kilpatrick, who farms at Craigie, near Kilmarnock, said the summit must produce action as the crisis in Scotland’s dairy sector was “unprecedented”.
“Global oversupply and weak commodity prices are wreaking havoc. Longer term, the market will rebalance but not soon. That means the dairy sector must collaborate and governments and creditors must support farmers over the next 12 months,” said Mr Kilpatrick.