March 31, 2005

UK dairy farmers to milk more from their sales

Dairy Farmers of Britain (DFOB), one of the UK's largest milk processors, announced that it would increase the amount farmers get for their milk, with a number of major processors likely to follow suit.

The increase is likely to be 0.3p per litre to around 18.5p per litre. Further increases can be expected in April.

DFOB said the interim increase is in consideration of the extra returns received during March from parts of the liquid market.

Next up for the cooperative is to achieve a similar price increase for UK cheese manufacturers who have experienced an overall slowdown in the UK cheese market.

A price increase by Dairy Crest, the UK's second largest milk processor also seems probable after it confirmed that a number of major UK retailers had offered it higher prices in a bid to offset rising industry costs.