Kyvalley Dairy based in northern Victoria has secured its first supermarket contract for domestic markets in a large part of Victoria.While the company has seen its products on the shelves of small independents such as IGA in a few locations, a new deal with ALDI is its first with a national, supermarket chain.Director Wayne Mulcahy said the company had not actively sought to work with supermarkets on a large scale before.He said they were approached by ALDI and the proposal was one they could work with.‘‘ALDI has two major distribution centres for Victoria – one at Derrimut covers the west of the state and Dandenong - the east,’’ Mr Mulcahy said.‘‘We will be supplying the Derrimut centre so our milk, under the Farmdale brand, will be on a lot of Victorian supermarket shelves.Kyvalley now employs 150 people across its farms, factories and in Geelong.While the exact farm-gate price change was not disclosed,director Wayne Mulcahy said the package represented a “significant” increase.“It’s not tokenistic – it’s a reasonable amount that makes a difference and it’s not just a once-off, it will continue every month until the end of next season.“At the end of the day we are committed to supporting our local communities and we think it’s right for us to step in and assist.“We’re confident by making this bonus payment, it will likely enable the suppliers to change their planning decisions… and the planning decisions we’re looking for are the ones where they maintain their milk supply.
