A LITRE of milk will go up by 18p from next month, it was confirmed yesterday. But deputy Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer said local milk was still good value for money.
‘Even after this large price rise, local milk still represents fantastic value for money for what is a really fresh, high-quality local product.
‘It costs less per litre than most other bottled drinks and is still significantly cheaper than you would have to pay on the mainland for milk from UK herds of Channel Island cattle breeds.’
From Sunday 2 December, skimmed, semi-skimmed and full-cream milk will cost 88p per litre and half-litre cartons will retail at 49p.
A half-litre of organic milk will cost 68p.
The retail price of milk, currently 70p per litre, has been the same since May 2004.
Recommendations were made by an independent milk-price review panel that was set up following the April States debate on the future of the island’s dairy industry.
The panel recommended that a 17p increase should be applied if direct billing - a method by which some shops currently pay for their milk - remained, but 18p if it was abolished. Commerce and Employment, which runs the Dairy, was known to be keen to abolish direct billing.
A spokesman for the Guernsey Milk Retailers’ Association said it expected to be able to make a statement today.
Deputy McNulty Bauer said the system of independent review of milk prices had been a useful learning process for everyone, including the panel, the department and, she imagined, the stakeholders ‘the Dairy, farmers and milkmen’.
‘From some of the recent media coverage, it appears to have made the farmers at least review the role they have in the industry and to ask some very pertinent questions about the future,’ she said.
She said Guernsey people would ultimately decide whether local milk and related products remained on the shelves.
‘If islanders want these to continue to be available in the future, coming from our very special cattle breed and countryside, I urge you to choose these and other local food products whenever you can,’ she said.
Guernsey Farmers’ Association spokesman James Watts said he was disappointed that the price was climbing so high, but it had to be put in the context that it had been at the same level for the past three-and-a-half years.
‘We are pleased in the medium term with what we have been awarded and we can develop our businesses accordingly,’ he said.
‘But our only fear is that now that the price has risen so much, some third party might be tempted to import milk.
‘We are also surprised that the £2m. environment payment made to farmers each year was not increased to offset some of that rise.’
Forest Stores co-owner Keith Bienvenu said he doubted attempts would be made to import milk and believed people would just keep buying the local product.
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