David Littleproud calls for Aldi, Coles, Woolworths to explain farm cost pressures

David Littleproud is supporting calls by Victorian dairy leader Paul Mumford for supermarkets to raise prices and explain the reasons why.

Supermarkets need to raise the price of milk and explain the reasons why via a major marketing campaign, according to the Federal Agriculture Minister.

David Littleproud has backed calls by United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Paul Mumford for the nation’s big three supermarkets to explain why dairy prices need to rise via in-house marketing.

The price of generic milk now sits at $1.30 a litre at Aldi, Coles and Woolworths but the UDV and other dairy groups say an immediate rise is necessary with fertiliser costs quadrupling in the past year.

“I think the supermarkets owe it to the industry — they’re the ones who devalued the industry,” Mr Littleproud said.

“What we’ve only recently announced is the $1m in transparency in pricing to bring that to the public attention and give power back to dairy farmers around volumes and prices and fat content … but the supermarkets have a lot to make up for, the way they devalued the industry.”

Mr Mumford last week told The Weekly Times that prices needed to rise and a mass marketing drive by the supermarkets should be initiated to explain the reasons why.

“It’s a case of leading the witness. If milk stays at $1.30 a litre, then the consumer thinks things are OK. Supermarkets need to do a lot more to explain why prices need to rise,” Mr Mumford said.

The Agriculture Minister said it wasn’t just dairy under inflationary duress and called for the consumer watchdog to do more to keep retailers accountable.

“It should be shown at the checkout, supermarkets are making farmers absorb it,” Mr Littleproud said.

“The ACCC needs to lift their game, I think they’ve been asleep at the wheel on this. Apple producers are very concerned about the input costs not being reflected. And the behaviour of the supermarkets was not allowing them an uplift in price despite the input costs, farmers don’t want charity, they want a fair price.”

A Coles spokeswoman said: “Coles contracts directly with Australian dairy farmers to purchase milk for Coles Brand fresh white milk in most Australian states, offering long-term contracts that provide farmers with certainty to plan for the future.

“The price Coles pays farmers for their milk is determined independently to the retail shelf price.”

Source: Alex Sinnott and Alexandra Laskie, The Weekly Times, 26 April 2022