The French-owned dairy giant has confirmed that it will continue to buy more than eight million litres of milk a year from Malanda processor Lion Dairy to support local farmers.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service awarded the milk tender to service all of its health facilities – believed to be worth about $300,000 – to the southern-based Parmalat Australia.
The decision initially caused outrage among the Far North’s dairy industry, which has been struggling against deregulation of the industry, and southern competitors offering “dollar milk”.
Millaa Millaa dairy farmer and Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation state councillor James Geraghty said it was good Parmalat had expressing intent to continue to support the local industry.
“We’re not asking for a free kick or anything like that,” he said. “We just need to make sure this deal comes out with local suppliers and conforms with the State Government’s mantra of ‘buy local’ and cut down on food miles and reduce the carbon footprint.”
Parmalat Australian general manager David Pitt said the volume of milk involved in the hospital contract would be less than 70,000 litres, representing less than 0.9 per cent of what the company was already buying from Far Northern dairy farmers.
“Parmalat was already an existing supplier to CHHHS before the last contract outcome was announced,” he said.
CHHHS chief financial officers Steve Thacker said the health service was in talks regarding local supply arrangements with the new contractor in an effort to develop a solution to benefit local farmers.
Source: The Cairns Post
Link: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/dairy-farmers-tentatively-welcome-parmalat-plan-to-continue-to-use-fnq-dairy-supply/news-