Aldi, Lidl and Asda have joined rival supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Tesco in cutting the price of milk by at least 5p.
The retailers are reducing the price of a pint to 90p, in order to match other grocers. While the drop will be welcomed by people struggling with higher living costs, milk still costs more than double the average price before Covid.
In March 2020, a pint of milk was around 43p, according to official data.
All five supermarkets have confirmed the reductions in price will not affect how much they pay farmers, BBC reported. Tesco said it made the decision because its costs for buying in milk had fallen.
Sainsbury’s said with “costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low, especially on the everyday essentials people buy the most”.
Arthur Fearnall, a farmer and board director at Arla Foods, said: “While some prices for dairy categories are seeing early signs of levelling out, the severity of the on-going cost of living crisis and volatile economic environment is continuing to negatively impact consumer demand for both conventional and organic milk.”
Paul Savage, agriculture director at Arla, said milk supplies in the UK rose by 3.2 per cent in March compared to the same month last year.
“When coupled with a decline in dairy consumption and an overall decline in shopping spending, with 75 per cent of people cutting expenditure on food, this is creating a change in the supply and demand of milk,” he said.
Recent research revealed nine out of 10 shoppers reported feeling concerned about rising food prices, according to Barclays.
Around 62 per cent said they were finding ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop, a report showed.
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