Why has Milk gone up so much lately?

Mojisola

glider3560 wrote: »

Stupid question: but why do farmers sell their milk for less than cost price, as we keep hearing?

If all the farmers said "no, I'll make a loss", then the supermarkets wouldn't have any milk to sell and the price they pay would increase.

Simple supply and demand.

You can't turn off the tap on a cow - the milk will keep coming.

What are the farmers meant to do with it if they don't honour their contracts with the supermarkets and wholesalers?

robin58

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

What would count as a 'poor farmer'? Less than £1/2m in land value?

Would you consider a householder in a £500,000 house a 'poor householder'?

The value is only raised when it's sold.

Mojisola

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

What would count as a 'poor farmer'? Less than £1/2m in land value?

A lot of farmers are tenants, not land owners.

VfM4meplse

Morrisons sell at £1.23 / 4 pints.

I was close to a store and thought I may as well drop in for milk, as I am guzzling it like it's going out of fashion (4 pints in less than 48 hours ). There was no price displayed so I assumed it price-matched other stores, although I did notice the packaging declared that 23p of each sale goes back to the farmers.

Price per 4 pints at the till: £1.23. Which means the supermarket still keeps the whole £1.

Big_Graeme

glider3560 wrote: »

Stupid question: but why do farmers sell their milk for less than cost price, as we keep hearing?

If all the farmers said "no, I'll make a loss", then the supermarkets wouldn't have any milk to sell and the price they pay would increase.

Simple supply and demand.

Because milk is a traded commodity, supermarkets would just buy from Europe where there is enough over production to cover demand.

The British shopper always goes for price rather than where it is produced.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

What would count as a 'poor farmer'? Less than £1/2m in land value?

Alot of farmers have had their farms handed down to them.

So unless they sell they sell their land/assets then they got that money in the bank.

Asset rich, cash poor.

I would love for people who actually moan at produce prices to live a week as a farmer/ smallholder.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Morrisons sell at £1.23 / 4 pints.

I was close to a store and thought I may as well drop in for milk, as I am guzzling it like it's going out of fashion (4 pints in less than 48 hours ). There was no price displayed so I assumed it price-matched other stores, although I did notice the packaging declared that 23p of each sale goes back to the farmers.

Price per 4 pints at the till: £1.23. Which means the supermarket still keeps the whole £1.

But don't forget that £ has got to cover the transport cost to get from the farm , pasteurise it, bottle it, transport it to the shop, there is alot of wages, fuel costs, factory costs etc that's got to be covered..

VfM4meplse

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

But don't forget that £ has got to cover the transport cost to get from the farm , pasteurise it, bottle it, transport it to the shop, there is alot of wages, fuel costs, factory costs etc that's got to be covered..

Well forgive me if have no sympathy with the supermarkets. It's still the farmers being screwed, not thm.

System

The farmers are only getting 19p a litre which is cost even or making a loss.

We should pay more, providing the extra goes to the farmers

POPPYOSCAR

I will never understand why people moan about the price of milk and yet happily pay more for a bottle of water!!