Arla Foods amba maintains milk price in February

The Arla Foods amba on-account price will remain unchanged in February 2015.

There is, however, a small , positive, adjustment to the 2015 forecasted 13th payment which equates to a 0.06ppl increase, raising the UK standard litre price to 24.87 pence.

Commenting on the price, Peter Winstone, Arla Foods amba farmer board director, said:

"Arla’s milk price is calculated using a formulaic pricing mechanism, based on the revenue of the entire global business.  The performance of the business in January along with the forecast for the financial year, on which the February price is calculated, indicate that Arla is in a position to be able to maintain its milk price into February for our 13,500 owners, including 3,000 from the UK."

Ash Amirahmadi, head of milk and member services at Arla Foods UK, added: 

"The GDT auction continues its weak upward trend, but the imbalance between supply and demand continues. Markets remain under pressure and this is affecting the entire dairy industry across Europe.  Unfortunately, the uncertainty in supply and demand over the coming months continues to impact on market conditions."

Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 13,500 dairy farmers circa 3,000 of whom are British.

Dating back to 1881, Arla’s purpose is to secure the highest value for its farmers’ milk, while creating opportunities for their growth. With production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, Arla is the world’s sixth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products. Arla has a total of more than 18,000 colleagues and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® in more than 100 countries.

Arla Foods UK is the largest dairy company in the country and is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree. It processes 3.5 billion litres of milk a year and has a turnover of £2.2 billion. As well as being number one in fresh liquid milk, butter, spreads and cream, Arla is the UK’s largest cheese manufacturer. It has also built the world’s largest fresh milk facility located at Aylesbury and has plans for it to be the first zero carbon site of its kind. The UK business has a team of approximately 4,000 colleagues located at its dairies, distribution centres and head office.