Milk Marque under fire as dairies axe jobs

Northern Foods, owner of Express Dairies, is calling for Milk Marque to be reformed as the decline in doorstep deliveries continues.

The company has confirmed it is going ahead with the 2,200 job cuts it announced

in March. This follows on from the 1,500 job losses rival Unigate announced this week. Unigate blames the losses on higher milk prices, introduced since Milk Marque launched last autumn.

Northern Foods also claims Milk Marque, which superseded the Milk Marketing Board last autumn, is “unsatisfactory”.

“The continued existence of milk quotas which restrict milk production means that a free market cannot operate,” says chairman Christopher Haskins.

Northern Foods says supermarket milk sales have grown – rival Unigate also blames discounting supermarkets.