Labour’s shadow Farming Minister Huw Irranca Davies, NFU Vice President Adam Quinney, Nia Griffith, Shadow Wales Minister, Mary Creagh Shadow Secretary of State for Defra and Charlie Platts, one of the 1700 farmers at the crisis summit
Nia joined over 1700 hard-pressed farmers in Westminster to lobby the government about the future of the dairy industry.
Whilst we take our pint of milk in the fridge for granted, some milk processors and supermarkets are now paying farmers well below the cost of producing each pint. Nia Griffith MP is supporting the campaign for transparent milk contracts to ensure that farmers get a fair deal for the milk they produce. Dairy farmers have seen a cut of 15% in the price they are paid by processors for their milk, meaning that average prices paid to farmers are now below 25p per litre with costs of producing running at around 30p per litre. Speaking on the radio, the Farming Minister, Jim Paice, was even forced to admit he did not know the price of a pint of milk.
Nia said:
“We all want to see an affordable pint of milk in the shops but whilst some decent supermarkets and milk processors have agreements with farmers to make sure that a fair price is paid, others are squeezing the life-blood out of small family farms which are simply going to go bust. That’s not good for rural communities which are going through a tough enough time under this out-of-touch government. We need prompt action from the government to get a fair deal for consumers and farmers.”