The Farmers’ Union of Wales has today welcomed the publication of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) dairy prices report and called on the UK government to correct those issues which have allowed supply chain imbalances to continue.
In its written evidence to the inquiry, the FUW called for an expansion of the Groceries Adjudicator’s power to cover all dairy producers and not just the small minority on retailer aligned contracts.
At present, retailer aligned contracts only account for about four percent of the milk produced in Wales and the union was therefore pleased to note the recommendation to include all dairy farmers in the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator.
The FUW agrees with the call on the government to activate the Adjudicator’s power to fine retailers before the election in May and has stated that it is essential that the Adjudicator can use this power properly and swiftly in order to bring retailers exhibiting unfair practises to account.
“The union has been mindful of the lack of progress on producer organisations in Wales and would seek more support from government to allow farmers the choice to join a producer organisation in order to increase their power in the supply chain,” said FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Dei Davies.
It has been a long-standing policy of the FUW to promote high quality Welsh produce and the union continues to state that a lack of transparency in labelling has misled consumers.
“Consumers must be able to make informed choices when purchasing milk and dairy products and we are pleased to see that the report calls for clearer regulation on the labelling of such produce.
“We are happy to see that the report calls on government to do more to promote dairy produce domestically and abroad and as such we would like to see the UK government lead by example with promotion beginning at home through greater local procurement in our hospitals and schools,” added Mr Davies.
Farmers have faced months of consecutive price drops due to an imbalance in global supply and demand. Whilst recovery for the sector may be some way off, it is essential that lessons are learnt from the current crisis in order to offer dairy producers more protection against rapid cuts in milk prices.
“Market volatility is forcing dairy producers out of business at an unprecedented rate and it is the responsibility of the UK government to do everything possible to protect our dairy farmers from market forces which are beyond their control,” added Mr Davies.