Arla, the global dairy company and one of the largest milk processors in the UK, has announced it will be abandoning its planned 2p per litre price cut.

The decision last night followed earlier statements in the day from First Milk, who have withdrawn price cuts on milk, and Dairy Crest, who will be postponing their planned 1.65ppl price cut for two months.

Having stated earlier this month that the company would be reducing the standard litre price to 24.5ppl, a spokesman for Arla said yesterday: ‘Following an unprecedented two weeks of activity within the industry, Arla Foods is able to confirm that having recovered money from its customers, and by increasing its non-aligned premium, it will no longer have to implement the planned August reduction in its milk price.’

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The announcements come after two weeks of peaceful protests outside supermarkets and dairy processors across the country, as the notion of price cuts put many farmers and family-run businesses at risk of bankruptcy.

The NFU has welcomed the moves by dairies and NFU President Peter Kendall praised the support from ‘farmers, their families and shoppers…to see a fair price paid to our dairy farmers.’

He went on to remark that ‘all eyes are on the milk processor Wiseman/Muller to rescind its planned milk price cut before August 1…I am committed to ensuring our dairy farmers have a secure future and we will continue to work extremely hard on the challenges that lie ahead.’

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