Qualifying Muller Direct farmers are set to receive an extra 1p/L for May’s milk.

It means farmers supplying Muller who meet the conditions for the Muller Direct Premium 20201, will be paid 27.25p/L from May 1, 2020.

Covid-19 market disruption

There has been some concern over how the coronavirus pandemic would affect dairy markets. However, Rob Hutchison, operations director at Muller Milk & Ingredients said the first was “well placed” to cope.

It comes just days after Arla Foods announced it would hold its UK milk price for April and Freshways announced a 2p/L cut, citing a drop-off in sales to the hospitality sector as the reason.

Freshways will now pay its suppliers 22p/L for April’s milk while Arla will pay 30.79p/L for conventional milk and 39.83p/L for organic for the same month.

“Following strong consumer demand for dairy products like fresh milk, yoghurts and butter, the whole supply chain is currently under considerable pressure right now,” Hutchison said.

We are facing into uncertainty, but we have a resilient supply chain and are well placed to deal with it.

“The milk that we collect from farms across Britain plays an absolutely vital role in helping to feed the nation. So we are committed to doing everything we can to support our farmer suppliers, while maintaining first-class customer service levels and meeting strong consumer demand.

“To meet recent demand, we have significantly raised our total output. But with demand expected to remain high, and some employees absent due to self-isolation, we’re also looking for up to 300 additional colleagues to play a key role in manufacturing and delivering a range of essential dairy items.

“At this time of national crisis, the whole supply chain is really pulling together to make sure that the nutritional benefits of dairy are available to every household in the UK.”