Arla Foods has said that it will raise its on-account milk price by €0.0125 per kilogram from 1 September – the first time that its milk price has increased in almost a year.
When applied to the UK standard litre for conventional milk, the increase equates to an upward movement of £0.01, taking it to £0.2005, Arla said.
The announcement follows 18 months of falling prices, including three successive months of reductions in the on-account price of Arla’s milk between April and June. It is also the first time that Arla has increased its milk price since last October, with the intermediate months showing either level or falling milk prices.
Commenting on the decision, Arla Foods board director Jonathan Ovens said: “This is welcome news for our farmer owners, who continue to face challenging times on farm. Our increase will hopefully reaffirm their confidence in the dairy industry, after 18 months of falling prices.
“Commodity markets have continued to strengthen, as indicated by the increase in the latest GDT auction. This follows a significant downturn in milk production and increases in yellow cheese prices across Europe, while prices across European retail markets are also firming.”
The global dairy cooperative is owned by around 12,700 dairy farmers; 2,700 of those are British.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024