The parent company of leading UK dairy firm Arla Foods has announced that it has almost doubled the number of its farmer owners in the UK.
An additional 1,300 farmers from across the country have become co-owners of the world’s sixth largest dairy company Arla Foods amba, giving them access to international dairy markets.
In the North East of England – including Yorkshire – 225 farmers have signed up to be members in the latest recruitment round.
Arla Foods amba is Europe’s largest dairy cooperative and, with the recent boost in its membership, it is now owned by a global network of 13,500 farmers across the UK, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden.
Of those, 2,800 members are British and they supply 95 per cent of Arla UK’s milk pool.
The UK business contributes approximately 25 per cent to the global revenue of Arla, making the UK Arla’s largest market.
Mansel Raymond, chairman of the National Farmers’ Union’s dairy board, said he was pleased that the amba co-operative was creating much needed opportunities for British dairy farmers.
“For years UK farmers have looked on enviously at the apparent disparity between this country and mainland European milk prices,” Mr Raymond said.
“It’s good news that Arla has reopened its recruitment window so that British dairy farmers who wish to join Europe’s largest dairy co-operative will have the opportunity to be part of this successful business.”
Jonathan Ovens, chairman of the new farmer owner group and British farmer director at Arla Foods amba, hailed the increase in its membership as “a momentous achievement”.
“We have been working for ten years to become full members of the Arla cooperative,” he said.
“Arla is committed to delivering a sustainable future for its farmers, and through our ownership we will receive the leading UK milk price.”
The cooperative operates a significant global investment programme which has invested £500m in the UK in the last five years. A sum of £150m was spent on a new state-of-the-art dairy in Aylesbury. Johnnie Russell, who is also a British farmer director for Arla Foods amba, said: “With quota abolition next year, which is likely to result in a huge upsurge in European milk production, it is essential that a farmer is able to benefit from the returns from world markets.
“Arla is the only UK business with a strategy in place whereby farmers can tap into a broader marketplace for dairy products.”
The dairy industry is being buoyed, after decades of gloom, by a growing demand for dairy products in developing markets overseas, such as Asia.
Ash Amirahmadi, the firm’s head of milk and member services, said it is time for British producers to take advantage of the upturn.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to turn British milk into an impressive array of products for home and overseas consumption,” he said.
“Arla sells its products in over 100 countries worldwide. Our farmer owners in the UK now have access to them.”
In the last month the price of skimmed milk powder rose by 1.7 per cent to £2,870 per metric tonne.
Arla traded the product on the Global Dairy Trade auction (GDT) on December 17, making it the first company to trade British dairy products on the GDT.
Mr Amirahmadi said this demonstrated the company’s ability to secure the highest possible value for farmers’ milk.
In total, Arla processes in excess of 3.2bn litres of milk a year for delivery to retailers and supermarkets across the country.
The company employs around 4,000 people across its UK dairies, distribution centres and its head office in Leeds.
Source:Yorkshire Post