Dairy Farmers Face £330 Million Deficit

UK - A £330 million gap between the price paid for milk and the costs of producing it has been revealed in a report published by the British National Farmers Union.
calendar icon 4 February 2011
clock icon 1 minute read
National Farmers Union

The Cost of Milk Production reveals that British dairy farmers are, on average, losing more than three pence on every litre of milk they produce.

With 11 billion litres of milk produced annually on dairy farms across the country this equals a massive £330 million gap between production costs and the price received by British dairy farmers.

The report shows that by far the biggest factor adding pressures to a sector already struggling to turn a profit is the huge increase in feed and bedding costs.

NFU dairy board chairman Mansel Raymond said: “These stark figures reveal the very desperate situation on many dairy farms and won’t be a surprise to the many farmers out there who are trying to make a living.

"The irony is that if dairy farmers had received their fair share of available market returns this year, we wouldn’t be faced with such a staggering gap between the price we’re paid for our milk and the cost of producing it.

“It is true that prices have started to move up but some milk buyers have told their farmers to expect only a penny increase. That’s a drop in the ocean given the scale of the price problem we are faced with. I’m seriously worried that for many dairy farmers it could be too little, too late.”

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