HC Deb 05 November 2003 vol 412 cc634-5W
Mr. Hayes

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements she intends to put in place to improve the opportunity for United Kingdom dairy farmers to compete in European and global markets: [134377]

Mr. Bradshaw

We are helping the UK dairy sector to compete better in European and global markets by promoting supply chain efficiency. My noble Friend Lord Whitty, has been chairing the Dairy Supply Chain Forum to consider, among other issues, ways in which the sector can improve its efficiency through collaborative action, and we have made a grant of nearly £0.5 million to the Food Chain Centre to study how the efficiency of the dairy supply chain might be improved. We have also supported the establishment of English Food and Farming Practices, a new industry-led body that has been set up specifically to support and encourage collective activity across all agricultural sectors. In addition to this, we are actively considering bringing decoupling forward to 2005 to give dairy farmers the freedom to restructure their businesses for the more competitively market orientated environment. Furthermore, the Milk Development Council has been working with Food from Britain to identify potential export markets for UK dairy products.

Mr. Hayes

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with representatives from the dairy industry on the dispute over the price per litre of milk paid to liquid milk producers [134380]

Mr. Bradshaw

Price negotiations between producers and processors, or processors and supermarkets, are a private commercial matter in which the Government cannot and should not get involved, as long as competition rules are respected. While the Government share producers' concerns over the low farmgate price of milk, they do not support protests.

The Secretary of State has had no formal meetings with representatives of the dairy industry to discuss milk prices or the current protests. However, Ministers frequently meet with representatives from all parts of the dairy sector and are therefore aware of the issues. In addition, matters affecting the whole dairy supply chain are regularly discussed at the forum chaired by my noble Friend Lord Whitty.