Customers will pay more for own-brand milk at Coles and Woolworths stores and the price increase will go to dairy farmers in need.
The price of the supermarkets’ own-brand three-litre milk will go from $3 to $3.30, with the extra 10c per litre being paid to suppliers and distributed to dairy farmers.
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association dairy council chairman Andrew Lester said it was good to see the supermarket giants wanted to assist drought-stricken farmers.
“However, the $1-a-litre milk doesn’t cover the cost of milk. They should go further and lift it by 20 cents a litre and give back to all farmers to help sustainability,” Mr Lester said.
The country’s peak dairy farmer group, Australian Dairy Farmers, voiced support for the move but said all dairy farmers needed to see a benefit from any increase in retail milk prices.
While all of NSW, most of Queensland and parts of Victoria have been hit by drought, the price rise is nationwide.
Coles said along with its customers it had committed almost $12 million to drought relief, including $5 million from the Coles Nurture Fund to help affected farmers.
Woolworths director of fresh food Paul Harker said there was no doubt many dairy farmers were doing it tough in the face of the drought.
“We’re keen to support them through this difficult time. Many of our customers have told us they want to help and are willing to pay more for their milk to do so,” he said.
The Woolworths group and its customers have raised more than $7 million for Rural Aid’s Buy a Bale appeal in support of farmers hit by the drought.
The funds are used by Rural Aid to deliver livestock feed, cover essential household expenses and provide additional counselling support services.
