First Milk is to further raise the standard price it pays producers in its liquid, cheese and balancing milk pools.
The UK co-operative said it will increase the standard litre price it pays to producers in its liquid pool by 0.5ppl to 29.15ppl from 1 December, while its cheese and balancing prices will go up 0.5ppl to 28.05ppl from 1 January.
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The balancing pool increase will happen in two stages: 0.25ppl on 1 December and 0.25ppl on 1 January.
First Milk’s chairman Bill Mustoe said: “These regular moves demonstrate our determination to support producers through these challenging times by moving milk prices as far and as fast as we can.
“The liquid market has been bouncing around over the last six months. As recently as July, some companies were announcing prices of below 25ppl, but there has clearly been increases since then, supported by a mix of tight volumes and stronger cream returns. With cheese stocks now tightening, we fully expect market prices for cheese to strengthen in 2013.”
He added: “We will continue to press for improved returns, as well as positioning ourselves to utilise our milk across all the markets in which we operate, to generate the best possible returns for members.”
