NFUS in drive to butter up dairy sector investors

IN AN audacious drive, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland has launched an open invitation to dairy processors to look at investment opportunities in this country.

If the bid is successful, it could not only see improved returns for dairy farmers but also knock a big hole in the growing UK trade deficit in dairy produce, which currently approaches a staggering 1.3 billion annually.

NFUS vice-president Allan Bowie said the move was made because it could see other countries benefiting from the recent surge in the value of milk products, while most of the UK market was locked into supplying raw milk at low prices.

"Despite the availability of cheap milk to processors here in the UK - the cheapest milk in virtually the whole of Europe - this trade deficit has grown rapidly. We import 90,000 tonnes of butter, while we consume 179,000 tonnes and we bring in 411,000 tonnes of cheese, while consuming 673,000 tonnes.

"We have the producers and the production here in Scotland that could meet the requirements of any processor looking to tap into the growing demand for milk and dairy products."

Bowie highlighted last month's link up between First Milk, the UK's largest farmer-owned co-operative and Eilers & Wheeler, one of Europe's established suppliers of dairy products, as a welcome development.

This alliance will lead to increased exports of cheese and milk products.

Yesterday the companies announced they would be setting up an "international contract" with suppliers getting 28.5p per litre plus a volume bonus.

Bowie said: "Butter prices are historically high, but the UK consumer is offered and buys vast quantities of Danish, Irish and New Zealand products. Similarly with cheese, we are failing to compete with Irish, French, German and New Zealand imports. We can make cheese and butter, we can make other added-value and commodity products and we can produce the milk, so why the lack of ambition?"