Muller milk price to hit 30p/litre mark

UK dairy processor Muller has increased its standard non-aligned milk price by 1p/litre from 1 October.

The rise means the 700 Muller Direct producers will receive 30p/litre on its liquid contract with constituents of 4% butterfat and 3.3% protein.

As of 1 September, the retailer supplement paid by supermarkets Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons will end.

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The added payment, which was introduced in August 2015 and was worth around 3p/litre at its peak, has been gradually phased out as the Muller milk price has headed upwards.

The October rise means Muller’s non-aligned milk price will have increased by over 50% in the last 12 months.

The processor said the rise reflected higher returns from butter and cream as well as an improved collaboration between Muller and its dairy farmers to maintain a level milk supply more closely aligned to forecasts.

Futures meetings

The Muller Direct Futures Contract, which goes live on 13 September, will be discussed with interested producers this week at a series of meetings across the UK.

The contract gives Muller Direct dairy farmers the opportunity to lock in a monthly price for up to 25% of their milk volume across a 12-month period for a guaranteed monthly milk price.

“We are pleased with the response we have had to the steps we are taking to ensure that farmers who supply us have a competitive milk price and an increasing number of tools available to manage their businesses through the markets which we operate in,” said Muller agriculture director Rob Hutchison.