July 28, 2010

Australia's Dairy Farmers lowers milk payments 

The Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative, one of Australia's largest dairy companies, has announced that it will pay its 780 suppliers a base price of AUD6.62 (US$5.93) per kilogramme of milk solids in the new season, down 6% on last year.

The company's chief executive, Greg Griffith, says the price works out to be about 47 cents (42US¢) per litre of milk.

"There has certainly been some downward pressure. I think we've seen downward pressure in nearly all regions except the southern region," he says.

"That's come about as a result of the international market and the changes we've seen there. Retailers have also put pressure on processing companies and obviously that feeds down the line to dairy farmers," he adds.