Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of competition among milk processors.

George Eustice

The Government is committed to championing a thriving and competitive British food and farming sector. We worked closely with the dairy industry to produce the ‘Leading the Way’ Growth Plan, which aims to improve long-term efficiency and competitiveness, and encourage processors to invest.

We are taking forward a series of measures to help farming businesses grow and thrive. Based on 2012 data, there are approximately 400 dairy processors in the UK, including farmer co-operatives, private dairy companies and public limited companies, with considerable variety and diversity, particularly in the cheese sector.