Eight years after the $1-a-litre varieties were introduced, today Woolworths will be pulling the varieties from their shelves and raising the cost of milk slightly in order to pass on more profits to local dairy farmers who are struggling.
In September 2018 Woolworth’s introduced their ‘Drought Relief’ milk varieties which passed 10c from every litre sold to farmers in areas affected by severe weather conditions such as drought and flood. However, this initiative has been criticised as being flawed as it doesn’t support all Australian farmers.
Australian Dairy Farmers president, Terry Richardson, wrote that “this pricing practice is not viable and we urgently need a shared solution to assist in building the long-term sustainability of Australian dairy farmers,” in a press release on the ADF website.
“Ultimately, we must push for a permanent end to discounted dairy products, whether it’s $1 per litre milk or cheap cheese.”
“The supermarkets know what farmers want. They know what they deserve. It’s now time for them to take a big step forward and do the right thing by ending this pricing practice. But until that time comes, I encourage the public to help dairy farmers by continuing to buy branded dairy products.”
Critics have alleged that the low-price rivalry between Coles and Woolworths has driven down the farm gate price of milk, leading to reduced profits for farmers. Coles has further come under fire after it was revealed in January that farmers were struggling to access funds raised by Coles by their home brand milk that was supposed to be for drought-affected dairy farmers. However, the Australian Dairy Farmers have supported this move by Woolworths and urge Aldi and Coles to do the same.
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