THE price of wholesale milk is rising by 4p a litre from today, Jersey Dairy has announced.
The 3% increase follows a 5% (7p per litre) hike which came into effect in April last year.
Jersey Dairy managing director Eamon Fenlon said “ongoing inflationary pressures” and increases in payroll, packaging, utility and freight costs this year were reasons behind the decision to raise prices again.
Consumers also face above-inflation electricity and gas price increases this month, but the price of milk is rising in line with the Island’s current rate of inflation, 3%.
Mr Fenlon said: “We have worked extremely hard to find efficiencies wherever we can throughout 2024 at Jersey Dairy, as have our farmers on their farms, but, like all other businesses, we have continued to experience increased costs over the past year.
“Also, an independent analysis of the profitability of our dairy farms highlighted that an increase in the price Jersey Dairy paid to our dairy farmers for milk supplied to Jersey Dairy was required to enable the ongoing levels of investment to ensure a sustainable commercial future.”
He added: “Sustainability of our farms is paramount to ensure an ongoing supply of fresh milk and the future of our iconic Jersey cow in its Island home.
“In addition to their environmental stewardship of our beautiful countryside, our farmers make a significant contribution to local food security with the wide range of products produced from the milk they supply to Jersey Dairy.”
In the statement announcing the rise, Jersey Dairy said that they had the support of Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel.
“In accordance with the provisions of the Milk Marketing Scheme (Approval) (Jersey) Act 1954, Jersey Dairy sought the opinion of the minister regarding this milk price increase, as we are obliged to do, and we have his support for this price increase,” their statement said.
Mr Fenlon added that the company was “very mindful of the cost-of-living challenges faced by many of our customers and [we] have kept this increase to a minimum, and we hope they understand why we must implement this price increase”.
