Milked dry

Published on 20/07/2012 00:00

Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams’ comments (your report, 18 July) highlight his lack of proper understanding of the whole milk price debacle.

He has obviously been totally taken in by the Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose publicity machines.

Yes, they have a few dairy farmers to which they pay a price based on the cost of production, but the majority of the milk sold by them is paid for at a price well below the cost of production. Dairy farms have been starved of a sustainable income for many years and this has had a detrimental effect on the various businesses which are associated with milk production.

Many dairy farms have managed to survive, thus far, only because of their reliance on “cheap” family labour.

The fact that bottled water, bottled at source, is more expensive than the equivalent carton of milk, speaks volumes.

Ann Wylie

Torphichen
West Lothian