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British farmers protest against low prices at supermarkets

Updated August 12, 2015 15:01:37

British farmers, fed up with poor prices, are venting their anger at the major supermarket chains in the United Kingdom.

Sheep producers are participating in the #NoLambWeek social media campaign, which urges farmers to avoid selling to supermarkets this week.

At the same time, dairy farmers are buying all the milk off the shelves and giving it away out the front of the supermarket for free.

John Davies, a sheep and beef producer from Wales, said farmers would be driven out of business unless supermarkets start paying higher prices.

"We tried to engage properly and we tried to debate and go forward, but sometimes you're just forced into this," he said.

"Farmers are feeling very fed up with the situation and they feel this is the only option to raise awareness."

Lamb prices have fallen in the last year on the back of a strong sterling and increased competition from cheap imports, particularly from New Zealand.

Mr Davies said lamb prices had reached historical lows.

"What frustrates people is when the shelves are filled with imported products and there's no choice of home-produced products," he said.

"That's really firing people up.

"There's been some pretty poor labelling saying 'produced in the UK' in quite large writing and then underneath in very small writing 'from New Zealand or Australia'.

"That's not really playing the game is it?

"Consumers have the right to choose whatever they want, but it should be properly labelled."

Mr Davies said farmers were further annoyed that supermarkets continued to charge customers the same price they did a year ago, despite cutting prices paid to farmers.

The #NoLambWeek campaign seeks to raise awareness within the community about the low prices farmers are receiving.

The organisers also hope it will promote the industry and encourage people to opt for lamb over other meat options.

"At the moment, it's not good. Last year was quite a good year - it was fine," he said.

"This year, it's a massive change and it's the same in the dairy industry as well.

"We just need to get the volatility out of the system and we need to get a better working relationship with both New Zealand and Australia.

"What's the point of farmers working wherever they are in the world producing for significantly less than the cost of production?"

Gareth Wyn Jones a sheep farmer from Llanfairfechan in northern Wales recommends an overhaul of country of origin labelling.

"What I would like is some type of traffic light," he said.

"Everything in this country that imported should have a red label.

"Anything produced and raise in Great Britain could have green packaging.

"Anything from the European Union could have an amber or an orange packaging."

So has the protest and push to withdraw lambs from local saleyards this week lifted the overall price ?

Some UK media reports suggest lamb numbers early in the week dropped 15 per cent nationally and 30 per cent in Wales.

"The price has risen, its only by a few pence," Mr Wyn Jones said.

"That's something that has never happened mid-season."

The meat sector has suggested there has been increased export demand, which has helped lift the price.

In recent weeks, videos have started to appear on social media of dairy farmers filling shopping trolleys with all the milk on sale in supermarkets.

The farmers then go outside and give the milk away for free.

Farmers have told the BBC their cost of production is higher than processors and supermarkets are willing to pay.

The protests come as global dairy prices continue to fall.

Processors say an oversupply of milk is forcing prices down and it's unclear when they will increase.

"All commodities are under pressure at the moment," Mr Davies said.

"There is a big spread in the price being offered.

"Some places are getting as little as 14, 15 pence a litre (32 cents a litre) for their milk and that's not sustainable."

Farmers across the English Channel in France have also taken to protesting in recent weeks.

Farmers, in agricultural machinery, have blocked highways and in some cases sprayed manure on passing cars to protest falling food prices.

Mr Davies said he wasn't expecting to see UK farmers spraying manure any time soon.

"I think you've got to be very careful not to inconvenience the consumer," he said.

"I guess the French and British have a very different psyche and I don't think it would be appreciated much if we started spraying slurry about the place.

"In France it works."

Topics: sheep-production, dairy-production, livestock, agricultural-prices, agribusiness, agricultural-policy, united-kingdom, wales

First posted August 06, 2015 17:06:23

Original author: Brett Worthington And Laurissa Smith

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