Milk prices were recently slashed by 9 percent in Victoria 45425
By Bridget Scott
FARMERS across Gippsland are feeling the crunch as milk prices take another decline.
The brutality of the one dollar a litre supermarket campaigns are starting to hit home for dairy farmers, as milk prices in Victoria wound down a further 9 per cent.
In the wake of the decreased prices, president of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria, Kerry Callow said the UDV, has given support to Australian Dairy Farmers to call for an ombudsman to keep the power of big players, such as Coles and Woolworths, in check.
“We need an ombudsman who can properly investigate the supermarkets’ behaviour and hold them account to whenever they abuse their market power,” she said.
Ms Callow also said consumers could play their part by thinking twice about how their purchases might affect the food-producing community.
“It’s a fact: $1 milk is not sustainable for Australia’s dairy farmers,” Ms Callow said.
Farmers all throughout the area will be hit hard by the decreasing price of milk products.
Officer dairy farmer and President of the Victorian Farmers Association Cardinia Branch, David Young said the price-cutting campaign had potential to have damaging effects on farms.
“It will have a detrimental effect on the viability of properties,” Mr Young said.
He the decrease in milk prices combined with the rise in feed prices causes considerable concern.
“Feed costs have also increased substantially,” Mr Young said.
The issue would pass without much contemplation if it was met with higher demand, yet Mr Young said this has not been the case.
“The drop back in price has not been compensated by higher consumption,” he said.
“If there was an increase in consumption that offset the increased price (it wouldn’t be of concern), but that has not occurred.”
Mr Young also raised the point that big market chains such as Coles and Woolworths will struggle to find suppliers if they continued to maintain low prices.
President of Dairy Farmers of Victoria Ms Callow said this was a growing trend that needs to end.
