British supermarket chain Morrisons yesterday announced it had reached an agreement with First Milk to pay an extra £400 per tonne for cheddar cheese with immediate effect.
The increase follows a recent rise in input costs and surging milk prices.
Jeff Halliwell, managing director of the First Milk Cheese Company – supplier of all Morrisons own label cheddar – said the grocery retailer had shown keen interest in supporting dairy farmers “over the long term”.
“Morrisons have shown a clear understanding of the issues faced by dairy farmers, but more importantly they have demonstrated a desire to play a leading role in supporting producers,” he added.
First Milk, the farmer-owned business with 2,800 members in Scotland, England and Wales, is currently working with Morrisons on a range of initiatives such as Christmas blended cheeses from the islands of Arran and Bute and the Mull of Kintyre.
The majority of the cheese that First Milk supplies to Morrisons comes from Haverfordwest creamery in West Wales, with the remainder sourced from its Campbeltown plant on the West Coast of Scotland .
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