Arla's milk price to increase from March

Arla's on-account price for conventional and organic milk will increase in March
Arla's on-account price for conventional and organic milk will increase in March

Arla's milk price from March will increase by 0.5 eurocent as demand continues to be stronger than expected, the co-op says.

The price increase means Arla’s conventional milk price will be 30.03 pence per litre from next month.

The co-operative's organic milk will see an increase to 38.39 pence per litre.

Arla Foods amba board director, Arthur Fearnall said the current outlook remained stable with the potential for positive development.

"Global milk production is mixed with Europe and Oceania experiencing limited growth," he explained.

"Both North and South American markets continue to grow strongly, however, this growth appears to be having little impact on global demand or prices

"Demand for commodity products remain strong, meaning that prices for all categories, whether cheese, powders or butter remain firm.

"Overall, demand continues to be stronger than expected and therefore market sentiment has remained positive."

Alice Swift, UK Agriculture director at Arla said farmers were facing pressure from rising costs for purchased feed, straw and fertiliser on the back a long wet winter.

"As a cooperative, ensuring the most value for our farmer owners for the milk they produce is crucial to our commercial decisions, and will continue to be our priority,” he said.

Arla farmers are paid on constituents via a manufacturing schedule: for ease of comparison, the liquid price is 28.94 pence per litre based on 4% fat and 3.3% protein.

Manufacturing price based on every other day collection, top quality, one million litres, 4.2% butterfat, 3.4% protein.