Arla Foods amba board director, and farmer owner, Arthur Fearnall, said: “ Global milk volumes continue to show year-on-year growth of around one per cent and the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 is beginning to be felt in the markets.  Last week’s global powder prices were weaker than expected, with prices being negatively impacted by aggressive pricing from the US and, for the first time, active exports from India.  In Europe, the renewed lockdowns are beginning to influence demand for cheese as food service is once again hit, with buyers becoming more hesitant to reduce prices. Due to the uncertainty arising from the latest COVID-19 situation and the continued lack of clarity around Brexit, the current outlook is uncertain with the potential for negative developments.”

Alice Swift, UK Agriculture director at Arla continues:  “Throughout this year from farm to store we have been working tirelessly to ensure that we prioritise the safety of our colleagues and delivery for our customers, despite some extreme challenges. As we make our way through this second lockdown, we are once again having to adapt and move quickly to changing consumer demands and the food service sector is once again being impacted, although not as hard as it was during the first lockdown. We have learnt many lessons this year, which have stood us in good stead to manage the quick changes required. I would like to thank all our farmers and our colleagues for their continued support and dedication in ensuring that we continue to feed the nation.”

Elsewhere Meadow Foods (27ppl ,Medina(26.93ppl) and Pensworth (26ppl) have all confirmed their milk price will stand until 1st Jan 2021.