Of the ten most common ‘cheap milk’ brands in Australian supermarkets, only four are entirely Australian supplied, it has been revealed. One other is a mix of local and international shareholders.
Italian, French, and Japanese companies are the main backers for the foreign-supplied products found in Australian fridges and shelves, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Japanese giant Kirin owns Lion, which supplies both Dairy Choice and Dairy Farmers to Australian supermarkets.
Meanwhile, Woolworths brand milk is supplied by Parmalat from Italy, which is owned by French company Lactalis. Pauls and Farmhouse Gold are also supplied by the Italian company.
Some of the Australian owned brands on shelves are: Norco, Farmers Own – thanks to a deal between farmers and Woolworths, and Coles milk being sold across New South Wales.
A2 Milk is a publicly traded companies, with shareholders from Australia and around the world.
In a statement last month, Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce said the Government ‘values the contribution of dairy farmers’, and outlined some of the suggested strategies to potentially help those who are struggling.
‘Dairy farmers I’ve met have asked me to look at a range of options including concessional loans, additional rural financial counselling support and a fast-tracked Farm Household Allowance assessment process,’ Mr Joyce said in a statement.
‘I have closely monitored developments following the Murray Goulburn and Fonterra decisions to reduce farm gate milk prices for the 2015-16 season and since that time have had a number of discussions with farmers, industry leaders, processors and retailers.
‘With over half of Australia’s 6,100 dairy farmers directly impacted by Murray Goulburn and Fonterra’s decisions it is clear that this will have a significant impact not only on their suppliers, but also on the confidence of dairy farmers supplying other processors.’
Coles announced last month it would start selling a new, more expensive brand of milk to help local farmers.
The supermarket announced it would introduce its new products to stores in August, with an extra 20 cents per litre sold to go towards a ‘fighting’ fund for the flailing dairy industry.
Coles Managing Director John Durkan said in a statement the company was focused on helping sustain the dairy industry amid a global down-turn in demand for milk.
Mr Durkan said he hoped the initiative would be up and running sooner rather than later so farmers could start reaping the financial benefits.
‘It’s important that we have a vibrant dairy farming sector, and we can only have that if we work together to ensure the long term health of the industry,’ Mr Durkan said.
Source: DailyMail
