Müller is to increase the farm gate milk price offered to dairy farmers to 30.5 pence per litre (ppl) from November 1st, 2017. The 0.5ppl increase means that 700 Müller Direct farmers will have seen their standard milk price rise by more than 10ppl in the year since autumn 2016.
Müller Agriculture Director Rob Hutchison said: “Global markets for dairy commodities like butter and cream are easing following the recent and unprecedented surge, with supply increasing and demand softening. However, we remain committed to offering a competitive milk price at each stage in the global dairy market cycle and are investing heavily to add value to the milk we buy.
“We are also working with farmer suppliers to ensure that production is more closely aligned with the requirements of our customers, and to introduce and encourage the use of tools which are designed to help manage milk price volatility.”
Müller has confirmed that 130 farmers are participating in its 100 million litre Müller Direct Futures Contract. This provides the opportunity to fix a monthly price for up to quarter of each farmers milk production for up to 12 months ahead, offering higher levels of certainty over future milk price returns.