Supermarket extends dedicated milk pool

Supermarket giant Tesco has reaffirmed its commitment to British dairy farming by extending its Sustainable Dairy Group milk pool.

From 6 December, all the supermarket’s fresh cream and own-label milk brands, Creamfields and Pure, will contain milk from the 800 TSDG farmers – currently its core milk range (skimmed, semi-skimmed and full-fat) is produced by the group.

Tesco said the expansion meant dedicated dairy farmers would each receive an estimated £44,900 above the average British milk price next year, up from an annual average of £40,800 since the group was launched in 2007.

“Tesco remains committed to ensuring British dairy farmers receive a fair price for the milk they supply and the guarantee to pay above the cost of production is helping our farmers to invest for the long term,” corporate and legal affairs director, Lucy Neville-Rolfe, said.

“This is clearly shown by a 5.8% growth in milk production among our farmers over the past 12 months.”

TSDG members on the Cost Tracker contract, which is based on dairy farm production costs provided by consultant Promar, currently receive 28.18p/litre, while those outside the Cost Tracker (around 20% of the total milk supplied) get 27.68p/litre.

Tesco is raising consumer awareness of the supply group by including the group’s assurance logo on dairy products made from TSDG milk. Some milk tankers also display the TSDG logo.