Strong demand boosts Müller UK farmgate price

02-Apr-2020 - Last updated on 02-Apr-2020 at 11:46 GMT

To meet recent demand, Müller has significantly raised total output and is hiring around 300 additional staff in the UK.

In the UK, Müller has boosted its farmgate milk price, but that’s not the case at other companies.

Dairy farmers supplying Müller in the UK who meet the conditions for the Müller Direct Premium 20201, will be offered a milk price of 27.25ppl from May 1, 2020, an increase of 1ppl.

Rob Hutchison, operations director at Müller Milk & Ingredients, said, “Following strong consumer demand for dairy products like fresh milk, yogurts and butter, the whole supply chain is currently under considerable pressure right now. We are facing into uncertainty, but we have a resilient supply chain and are well placed to deal with it.

“The milk that we collect from farms across Britain plays an absolutely vital role in helping to feed the nation. So we are committed to doing everything we can to support our farmer suppliers, while maintaining first-class customer service levels and meeting strong consumer demand.”

Hutchison said that to meet recent demand, the company has significantly raised total output.

“But with demand expected to remain high, and some employees absent due to self-isolation, we’re also looking for up to 300 additional colleagues to play a key role in manufacturing and delivering a range of essential dairy items.

“At this time of national crisis, the whole supply chain is really pulling together to make sure that the nutritional benefits of dairy are available to every household in the UK.”

Arla Foods amba confirms hold for April milk price

Arla, however, said its on-account prices for conventional and organic milk will be unchanged for April 2020. However, there will be a slight quarterly currency adjustment downwards of 0.15 pence per liter. When applied to the UK manufacturing price Arla’s pence per litre for its farmer owners for conventional milk will be 30.79 pence and the organic price 39.83 pence per liter, from April 1.

Ash Amirahmadi, managing director at Arla, said, “We have mobilized our business and are working around the clock to keep our people safe and to supply customers with the products that they want.

“These are challenging times and it is encouraging to see the grocery retail sector and farming pulling together. I would like to thank every individual working across Arla, from farm to store delivery, as they continue to work exceptionally hard to prioritise getting milk on the shelves, to deliver for Britain.”

First Milk announces May milk price hold

First Milk also announced it is holding its member milk price for May 2020. This means its milk price from May 1 will be 26.75ppl for a liquid standard liter and 27.63ppl on a manufacturing standard liter, both including member premium.

Jim Baird, farmer director and vice-chairman, said, “The current situation is uncertain, as no-one can predict what the overall impact of COVID-19 will be on society at large, or on milk prices. International dairy commodity markets have weakened, and the foodservice sector is shutdown, yet most of our customers are focused on retail markets, which are seeing strong demand due to concerns over food availability.

“There is no room for complacency in the current circumstances and we have reviewed and strengthened our contingency plans across the business and, so far, our sites are operating in line with our business plan. Throughout our supply chain – from farmer members to hauliers and First Milk colleagues – everyone is working tirelessly in difficult circumstances to play our part in feeding the nation and I want to thank everyone involved for all their support.

“We are well-placed and will continue to do all that we can to minimise the risk to future returns for our members in these challenging times.”

Saputo Dairy UK

In January, Saputo Dairy UK announced from March 1 until July 1, it was dropping its milk price to its Davidstow farmers to 28.7ppl.

“As conditions in the UK cheddar market remain challenging, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our milk price,” Chris Thomson, group procurement director at Saputo Dairy UK, said.

“However, as part of our strategy to provide our farmers with as much stability as possible, we have also committed to apply a floor to our milk price at 28.7ppl until 1 July 2020. This means there will be no further reductions for at least the next four months. Our price still remains one of the highest in the UK.”