---

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the operation of the milk- dairy supply chain. [148693] Alun Michael: Last year the Milk Development Council commissioned a study by KPMG on "Prices and Profitability in the British Dairy Chain" which highlighted a number of areas where the operation of the dairy supply chain might contribute to low farmgate prices in the UK, including the structure of the UK industry, the low value of the product mix and the low level of product innovation within the UK compared with some member states. The Report also identified a number of areas where supply chain efficiency could be improved, through rationalisation or benchmarking. Many of these factors are for the industry itself to address. However, the Government can and has taken action to facilitate industry action in line with its Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food. In particular: Lord Whitty has chaired meetings of a Dairy Supply Chain Forum, which has been looking at co-operative solutions to improve supply chain efficiency, as well as other issues; Under the auspices of the Forum, the Milk Development Council has initiated an innovations workshop to look at barriers to innovation in the sector and how to overcome them; Defra is participating in a further two sub groups of the Forum, which aim to facilitate the long term sustainable development of the dairy supply chain and help it adjust to the new environment created by the reformed CAP; The Government has made a grant of nearly £0.5m to the Food Chain Centre to examine how to improve dairy supply chain efficiency; and We have established English Food and Farming Partnerships to encourage co-operation and collaboration across all agricultural sectors.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

417 c253W;417 c253-4W; 148693

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Dairy farming Milk

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk