10c milk levy set to bypass WA farmers

LITTLE if any of the proposed 10 cents-a-litre temporary drought relief levy on milk now seems likely to be returned to WA dairy farmers.
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So far Coles Supermarkets, part of the Wesfarmers group, is the only large milk retailer or processor to introduce a levy nationally – its three-litre Coles brand milk increased in price from $3 to $3.30 in all states from Thursday last week.
But Coles has said the extra 30c will be donated to the National Farmers’ Federation’s 2018 Drought Relief Fund, rather than specifically back to dairy farmers.
As WA’s dairying area is not drought declared, the extra money raised by the levy in WA is unlikely to remain here.
In the Eastern States, Coles brand milk is processed by New South Wales-based Norco for supermarkets in the north and the Australian arm of Canadian dairy giant Saputo, which took over Murray Goulburn’s factories, suppliers and contracts in May, for supermarkets in the south.
Lion Dairy and Drinks (LDD), which processes WA-produced milk packaged as Coles’ own brand here, last Thursday said it would work with participating retailers to quarantine a temporary 10c/L levy on one, two and three litre Pura and Dairy Farmers brand white milk sold from October 1.
The extra levy funds will be returned to its dairy farmer suppliers, LDD has said.
But that levy will only apply in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
An LDD spokesman confirmed there would be no levy in WA on the Masters brand milk Lion sells here.
Woolworths was first to raise the price of its three-litre house brand milk by 30c to $3.30 last Thursday and plans to introduce a “drought relief” range of milk selling at $2.20 for two litres from mid October.
It is understood the Woolworths “drought relief” range will sell alongside its continuing $2/L Woolworths brand milks.
Woolworths has said it will form a committee with an independent auditor and dairy industry representatives to ensure the extra 10c/L goes back to drought-affected dairy farmers and that it will work with its Eastern States’ processor Parmalat Australia to ensure that it happens.
In WA, Woolworths brand milk is processed by Brownes Dairy which said on Friday it has not been approached to collect and return a 10c/L levy to farmers on any of the milk it bottles, either under its own labels or for contract clients.
Parmalat supply chain general manager Vince Houlihan has advised Queensland Dairy Organisation (QDO) the company supports a levy proposal and would guarantee to pass the full levy back to its farmers, but it is not clear if that statement also covers Harvey Fresh milk in WA-owned by Parmalat.
QDO initiated discussion on a nation-wide 10c/L levy on milk to be passed back to dairy farmers because rising feed prices driven by the Eastern States’ drought demand is absorbing profitability in every dairy region of Australia.
So far, QDO has collected more than 105,000 public support acknowledgments on an online petition calling for a national 10c/L milk levy to be collected and returned to help dairy farmers.
Federal Agriculture and Water Minister David Littleproud spoke to Coles and Woolworths about a milk levy more than three weeks ago but has had no luck convincing Aldi or Metcash – which operates IGA supermarkets – to join them.
A spokesman for Mr Littleproud said on Monday the idea of a temporary levy on milk to be returned to dairy farmers as an interim measure until the industry sorted out structural reform following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report, appeared to have been “hijacked”.
“Unfortunately it’s been represented as a ‘drought levy’, which was not the original intention, so the focus of the responses has now swung primarily to the drought affected areas and helping dairy farmers in them,” the spokesman said.

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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