Mr. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely impact on farmers' incomes of the proposed takeover of Unigate's milk production facility by Dairy Crest; and if he will make a statement. [118213]
§ Dr. HowellsOn 6 April, I announced that I had decided not to refer Dairy Crest's proposed acquisition of the liquid milk and cheese business of Unigate to the Competition Commission for investigation.
My decision was in accordance with the independent advice of the Director General of Fair Trading who advised me that the merger did not raise competition concerns which would warrant reference to the Competition Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
The DGFT consulted widely before offering me his advice. I considered it very carefully, and was persuaded that the merger will not have an adverse effect on competition. While the merger will lead to increased concentration in the market for the procurement of raw milk, the parties will continue to face significant competition from alternative purchasers. Farmers and raw milk marketing groups will still have a good choice of customer.