Tesco pays farmers more for milk

17th Sep 2010 08:37

Supermarket giant Tesco will pay its preferred group of milk suppliers more for every pint it buys from the beginning of next month.Farmers will get 28.18p per litre, up 1.28p on the previous price, although you'll have to be a member of the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group to feel the benefit.Only yesterday, Scottish dairy firm Robert Wiseman issued a profits warning as competition hurts business.The group, which supplies about 30% of the milk consumed in Britain every day, said £7m will be skimmed off operating profits in the second half of the year to 2 April 2011.Tesco pointed out that it was paying far more than the average 25.77p a litre offered by rival supermarkets.Chairman of the NFU Dairy Board Mansel Raymond called the move "extremely encouraging".An independent review of milk farming said there was a need for higher prices to offset increases in the cost of cattle feed.