Transcript
Jane Hunt MP asked:
Farmers are being sold short on payments for their milk. That is destabilising the market and is not providing a fair price to farmers from processors. Please will the Secretary of State say what he plans to do to rectify this, and please will he have a meeting with one of my dairy farmers, Mr Andrew Birkle?
Rt Hon. George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, responded:
In the summer, we issued a consultation on having mandatory contracts in the dairy sector. That is something that I have long felt is important, since dairy farmers, perhaps more than any others, all too often are price takers. We will be considering that consultation and the responses we received, and we intend to introduce regulations under the future Agriculture Act. I will of course be delighted to meet my hon. Friend’s constituent.
