‘Shops could run out of milk’, warns Arla Foods

Shops could run out of milk unless farmers can recoup a surge in costs, a dairy boss has warned.

Dairy farmers have been hammered with soaring bills for everything from fertiliser and animal feed to diesel.

There is now concern they will redirect milk from shops to other markets.

“All the data I am looking at shows we are likely to have supply problems in May or June of this year,” Mirror quoted Ash Amirahmadi, the UK boss of Arla Foods- the country’s largest dairy, as saying.

“If retailers are willing to stump up what’s required, we won’t have supply issues.

“But if that doesn’t happen, we may be looking at a 4 to 5 percent shortfall. Shops could run out of milk.”

Figures from the comparison website Trolley.co.uk show that across 116 different milk products in February, the average price had risen to £1.43, up 9p from September.

The rising costs are partly due to the crisis in Ukraine, which has also caused wheat prices to hit a record high as it is a major grain producer.

Prices of bread, potato and pasta prices are expected to rise as much as 50 percent. The cost of sunflower oil is also soaring.

Arla Foods’ warning comes amid reports that Russia may suspend exports of wheat, along with barley, maize and rye.