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Dairy farmers have reacted with dismay after Asda
signalled a new price war over milk with a round of
price cuts.
Asda said yesterday (14 August) that it was to cut the
price of a two-pint bottle of milk from 80p to 50p, with
discount retailer Aldi pledging to review its own
prices, according to The Times.
The National Farmers Union warned that the cuts would
heap further pressure on the country?s dairy farmers,
although Asda said it would bear the ?1m cost of the
promotion and no farmers would lose out.
?Costs are going up and confidence is fragile,? said NFU
dairy board chair Gwyn Jones. ?This price-cutting could
force more farmers to go under.?
He added: ?We are playing with people?s livelihoods
here. The competition between retailers is intense [and]
if they are going to pay for these promotions out of
their own money, then all well and good. But we know
both historically and from experience they will come
looking for farmers to help redress the balance.?
The price of milk in the UK has risen by almost 20% over
the last 12 months.
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