ANGRY Queensland dairy farmers have this morning staged a noisy protest against Coles supermarkets at the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane.
Carrying placards and chanting 'down with dollar milk' and 'don't discount dairy farmers' the farmers said Coles is destroying the dairy industry by offering Coles-branded $1/litre milk.
Farmers said Coles milk suppliers are facing an 8c/litre cut to on-farm milk prices. That announcement follows a 3c/litre drop last year.
The cuts will take the price paid to farmers down to 40c 41c/litre, in some case below the actual cost of producing milk. Farmers say the Queensland industry needs a minimum price of 55c to remain in business in the long term.
The farmers urged Ekka crowds to buy branded milk, rather than the Coles home brand.
Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation vice president Ross McInnes told queenslandcountrylife.com that it was shortsighted stupidity on the part of Coles to destroy the very farmers who supplied the supermarkets' milk.
"Only last year Coles said the sale of $1/litre milk would not impact on processors or farmers," Mr McInnes said.
"That is bullsh*t.
"Lower prices have pushed right through the system. Processors have no alternative but to pay lower prices to farmers.
"The only winner and profit maker in this is Coles."
Mr McGuiness said 40 Queensland dairies had closed in the past 12 months. A further 100 of the remaining 540 dairies were likely to be out of business in the next 12 months.
He said Queensland had consumed about 526 million litres of milk in the past 12 months. Production currently stood at 485m litres.
"By any logic there is less milk being produced so there should be upward pressure on prices."
Biggenden dairy farmer Robbie Radel said prices paid to farmers were now lower than 20 years ago.
"Coles are absolutely destroying the dairy industry," Mr Radel said.
"The prices being paid are unsustainable. After 100 years we will have to seriously consider where we are in this industry."
Darling Downs farmer Jim O'Donohue, Shadow Valley, Greenmount, said Coles was the ruination of the dairy industry and the livelihoods of farmers.
"Coles has discounted the value of all rural produce," Mr O'Donohue said.
"And it comes at time when the Prime Minister says Australia is moving to be the world bowl of the world."
Errol Gerber, Gerber Farms, Lowood, said Coles was directly responsible for making the dairy industry unsustainable.
"In some cases these prices are below the cost of production for farmers," Mr Gerber said.
"The Queensland dairy industry needs prices to be at least 55c/litre or higher to be sustainable."
The protest was organised by a group of concerned Queensland dairy farmers. It was supported by the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation.
Coles cut prices for its Coles brand two and three litre packs to $1/litre on January 26, 2011.
A 'fact sheet' issued at the time by Coles claimed farmers would not be harmed by the $1/litre milk campaign saying the retailer was "paying milk processors more for their milk, and fully absorbing lower retail prices".
"Our intent is to provide lower priced milk for our customers while not adversely affecting our suppliers," the fact sheet reads.
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