§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement on the price of milk that dairy farmers receive in Lancashire; [57451]
(2) if she will make a statement on the change in milk prices in the last two months for dairy farmers in Lancashire; [57453]
(3) what support and assistance she will provide to dairy farmers in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK, to assist them in relation to falling prices; [57452]
(4) what discussions her Department had on the application for agrimoney aid to support dairy farmers; what recent discussions her officials have had with supermarkets in order to ensure that farmers receive a fair price for milk produced; and what action she is taking to ensure that the price of milk in supermarkets reflects the price paid to dairy farmers. [57454]
§ Mr. MorleyIn Lancashire, in common with the rest of the country, the farmgate price of milk has been falling for the last two months. The most recent official figures show that for milk delivered in March the average farmgate price of milk in the UK had fallen to 18.04 pence per litre. However, we expect the average milk price paid to farmers (in May) for milk delivered in April to fall substantially, reflecting the price cuts announced by many purchasers and reported widely in the trade press.
The reasons for this fall are complex, but it is principally due to unusually high production in the UK so far this year, which has lead to severe competition between milk purchasers to find customers, at a time of weak world and Community markets for dairy commodities. The Government cannot, of course, prevent such overproduction and negotiations between farmers and purchasers, purchasers and their customers, or indeed, processors and supermarkets, are a commercial matter in which the Government cannot get involved. The Government can, however, influence the environment in which price negotiations take place through the Milk and Milk Products Management Committee and we have supported measures taken in Brussels to support EU markets and encourage exports.
The Department received representations from the industry on the payment of agrimoney aid to the dairy sector. While we acknowledge the difficulties that the sector is facing and are working with them on the recommendations of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, and the Milk Task Force, we decided not to make a claim for these funds given the many competing demands on the Exchequer at present.