The government is considering introducing compulsory country of origin labelling for British cheese, milk and yoghurt in a bid to help support struggling dairy farmers.
Thousands of farmers are leaving the industry as milk prices around the world have fallen by more than 50% over the past year. Good weather has boosted production, while lower than expected demand from China and a Russian import ban has led to a glut of cheese and yoghurts on the market.
British farmers have come under particular pressure amid a bitter price war among the supermarkets in which they have slashed the price of everyday basics including milk.
Liz Truss, the environment secretary, said the origins of pork, chicken and lamb would have to be more clearly labelled from April under new EU rules and she wanted to make dairy the next product category.
She said the government was also discussing the creation of a futures market for dairy produce to help reduce price volatility and the extension of the remit of the grocery market watchdog to cover dairy farmers.
Currently the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, only deals with the big retailers’ direct suppliers and so does not oversee their relationships with farmers, the vast majority of which sell their goods via processors such as Arla or First Milk. Tacon has no power to get involved in price negotiations, only in ensuring that retailers stick to the terms of their contracts and don’t add unexpected extra costs on to suppliers after agreements have been signed.
Speaking at the National Farmers Union conference in Birmingham, Truss said the government was prepared to consider extending the GCA’s remit but had no specific measures in mind. It’s not clear if a Conservative-led government would look at extending the remit of the GCA to cover all secondary suppliers or only specific vulnerable groups like dairy farmers.
The NFU president, Meurig Raymond, said: “Lots of negotiations and contracts are drawn up between farmers and a processor and in that situation … it would be good to have the adjudicator look at issues where there are complaints.”
Source: The Guardian