Supermarket chain Morrisons has announced that it is to launch a new milk brand that will see an extra 10p per litre paid to dairy farmers.
“Morrisons Milk for Farmers” will be more expensive than other milk on the supermarket’s shelves, but Morrisons say that all of the price difference will go directly back to the farmers.
The move comes after dairy farmers launched protests against the low prices supermarkets were paying for milk, that they say are not sustainable. The protests included walking two dairy cows through an Asda store in Staffordshire.
Discusing the news, NFU President Meurig Raymond said:
“This is a welcome first step. We need Morrisons to make sure there is plenty of resource available to promote this product. It must also be displayed prominently in-store.
“We have also had discussions with Morrisons about how it can introduce further initiatives to support dairy, including cheese, butter and yoghurt. We will continue to urge Morrisons and all retailers to ensure that farmers from all sectors who supply their food get a fair price.”
Morrisons Corporate Services Director Martyn Jones commented:
“We recognise that the current market for liquid milk is impacting on hardworking dairy farmers and their families. We want to reassure the industry that the retail price we charge for Morrisons milk reflects the highly competitive retail market. It is not linked to the price we pay our milk suppliers.
“We want to offer practical help by launching a range of 4-pint milk at a retail premium of 10p per litre, all of which will be passed back directly to dairy farmers. We will stock this product in all our stores, offering our customers the choice to support dairy farmers directly.”
The new milk brand is expected to hit the shelves in autumn.
