Asda and Tesco have increased the price of a pint of milk in their stores by 2p to 32p.
Tesco made the first move, raising its price on Tuesday, with Asda following suit a day later.
Both said at least some of the increase would be passed down the supply chain, though neither could say whether the whole 2p would end up in the pockets of processors and farmers.
A spokeswoman for Tesco said its decision to increase prices followed discussions with its milk suppliers about cost increases in raw materials, such as animal feed and packaging.
She added: “We have always said that, like any other product, should increases in the cost of producing milk arise we would
consider them carefully and act if appropriate.
“There is clearly cost pressure in the supply chain at the moment which is why we have decided to make this increase. We are confident that this will help to ease the pressure at all levels of the supply chain.”
An Asda spokeswoman said: “The increase will go down the supply chain as it always has done. We have complete transparency in our supply chain.”
It remains unclear whether Sainsbury will raise milk prices. The retailer said it constantly reviewed prices but had no plans for an imminent increase.
The upward shift in retail milk prices was welcomed by dairy farmers’ leaders. The National Farmers’ Union said the increases were “a welcome sign that must be translated into an immediate increase in producer prices to cover increased production costs”.
Dairy board chairman, Gwyn Jones, said: “It is essential that a fair proportion of this increase is passed down the supply chain, to help cover the significant increase in production costs which we estimate at 1.5ppl.”
Richard Clarke
Tesco made the first move, raising its price on Tuesday, with Asda following suit a day later.
Both said at least some of the increase would be passed down the supply chain, though neither could say whether the whole 2p would end up in the pockets of processors and farmers.
A spokeswoman for Tesco said its decision to increase prices followed discussions with its milk suppliers about cost increases in raw materials, such as animal feed and packaging.
She added: “We have always said that, like any other product, should increases in the cost of producing milk arise we would
consider them carefully and act if appropriate.
“There is clearly cost pressure in the supply chain at the moment which is why we have decided to make this increase. We are confident that this will help to ease the pressure at all levels of the supply chain.”
An Asda spokeswoman said: “The increase will go down the supply chain as it always has done. We have complete transparency in our supply chain.”
It remains unclear whether Sainsbury will raise milk prices. The retailer said it constantly reviewed prices but had no plans for an imminent increase.
The upward shift in retail milk prices was welcomed by dairy farmers’ leaders. The National Farmers’ Union said the increases were “a welcome sign that must be translated into an immediate increase in producer prices to cover increased production costs”.
Dairy board chairman, Gwyn Jones, said: “It is essential that a fair proportion of this increase is passed down the supply chain, to help cover the significant increase in production costs which we estimate at 1.5ppl.”
Richard Clarke
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