| Dairy farmers have formed blockades at three milk depots in Lanarkshire and West Lothian today to protest over the price they receive for the milk they produce.
The farmers want to stop milk from reaching supermarkets because they claim their pricing policies are forcing them out of business.
It’s claimed demand for low-cost products by supermarkets means dairy farmers are paid less for their milk than it costs to produce.
The Nation Farmers Union has said the number of dairy producers in Scotland has dropped from 5000 20 years ago, to around 1400 today because farmers are now being paid less for their milk — between 16p and 20p per litre — than they were 10 years ago.
Last year, six out of every 10 dairy farmers were unable to cover their costs.
Shiona Baird, the Greens’ speaker on enterprise and a former farmer, said, “For years, farmers have been struggling to make ends meet, being paid below the cost of production while supermarket profits soar.
“Scotland is losing more and more dairy farms and this is bad news for the consumer and bad news for the future of agriculture.”
“Rural environment minister Ross Finnie has done next to nothing to help Scottish farmers. Greens have pushed him for a response following the recent OFT decision not to change the ineffectual supermarket codes of practice to help curb unfair trade — yet we have had nothing but silence from him so far.
“Scottish ministers have a duty and a responsibility to respond to the situation and to do everything in their power to ensure our farmers receive a fair price for their goods.” |
