Several more dairy processors revealed their opening minimum milk prices for this coming season on Monday, June 3.
Bega Cheese has announced a price range of $7.90 to $8.20/kg MS, while the Kyvalley Dairy Group has announced a base price for conventional milk starting at 50¢/litre.
Bulla Dairy Foods will open with $7.85 to $8.65/kg MS, compared to last year’s opening of $8.80 to $9.60/kg MS.
Bulla chief executive officer Allan Hood said this year had seen an unprecedented increase in input costs, shifts in consumer behaviour and increased competition from imported dairy foods.
“As we shared with our farmers recently, these pressures indicated that the milk price for this season would be lower than where it has been over the past year,” Mr Hood said.
“We recognise that any reduction in milk price will have an impact on our farmers and that we are not alone in this challenge. However, we will work hard to address this through portfolio innovation and continuous improvement.
“We will continue to partner with our valued farmers to build a sustainable family business for Bulla, for our farmers and the local industry as a whole well into the future.”
Burra Foods announced its minimum farm gate milk price would range between $8 and $8.50/kg MS, compared to $8.90 to $9.40/kg MS last year.
Burra chief executive officer Stewart Carson said despite the current challenges faced by the dairy industry, the spirit of optimism and resilience serves as a driving force behind their strategic focus on nurturing the growth of the business for the future and the future of Gippsland.
“There have been a lot of changes to markets in the last 12 months and our flexibility has enabled us to take advantage of opportunities as they presented,” Mr Carson said.
“Sharing our product mix, markets, strategic focus and ongoing investment program is important to ensure our milk supply partners feel connected and confident in the future of our business.
“We continue to heavily invest in new products and our plant to expand production capability.
“Burra continues to enable milk supply partners to nominate funding and sponsorship opportunities, to support the sustainability and vibrancy of local dairy communities, via the Burra Foundation.”