May 6, 2020
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has called for a retail levy on all dairy products to support Australian farmers.
“Dairy farmers have endured drought, fires and now they are dealing with increased uncertainty from the impacts of COVID19,” Minister Littleproud said.
“This has come off the back of many years of devaluation of the industry with retailers selling milk for only a dollar per litre.
“During COVID-19 supermarkets have been one of the few industries to prosper so there is an opportunity for them to rebuild trust and ensure more money gets into dairy farmers’ pockets.
“I have asked them to each individually consider extending and increasing the amount of the support they provide dairy farmers who faithfully supply products across the full dairy cabinet.
“This would allow the benefits of any supermarkets’ levy or support schemes to be distributed evenly to Australian dairy farmers, rather than only to those whose milk happens to end up in private label milk.
“Dairy farmers don’t want charity they just want to play on an even playing field.”
Minister Littleproud said a voluntary levy was the best option to support dairy farmers as it allowed the market to respond, with consumers making purchasing decisions that benefit farmers.
“It is only fair that retailers play their part in giving farmers a leg up during this difficult time. This is a way of making amends for damage to the industry during the years of $1 milk prices.
“It will ultimately be up to each retailer to determine how much support they are willing to provide to our farmers.”
The Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation (QDO) welcomed the call for a retail levy.
“In March last year, the price of discount milk in supermarkets was raised from $1/litre and now sits around $1.20-$1.29/litre,” QDO president Brian Tessmann said.
“Minister Littleproud has asked supermarkets to increase the per litre cost to $1.50 and to pass that increase directly back to the farmers. Minister Littleproud’s proposal asks supermarkets to apply a levy applied to all dairy products, all dairy brands and all pack sizes.
“The coronavirus has caused havoc on both Australian and international dairy markets and, as the weeks under lockdown continue and the world’s economies edge closer to recession, there are fears that prices paid to farmers could reduce by 20 per cent as a result. This levy would provide stability at a very uncertain time.
“The drought that has taunted our farmers since 2017 has not broken. The short period of rain had in February this year has allowed farmers to plant and harvest some of their crops, but the rain was not enough to revoke any of Queensland and NSW’s drought declarations. We still need intervention and we still need help.
“If Australian consumers want our dairy industry to have a future, they have to be prepared to be part of the solution. If the supermarkets are prepared to back this levy then it will go a long way to giving us a chance.”
