After the milk price protests

It's been widely reported over recent months that a number of supermarkets – Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and Iceland – have been paying so little for milk that they are driving their farming suppliers to the wall.

After a series of highly publicised protests and stunts, and extensive media reporting, Aldi and Morrisons have now announced they will increase the price they pay suppliers for milk.

Aldi, the discount supermarket, said it would pay a minimum of 28p per litre for liquid milk from Monday, following talks with farmers and unions, while Morrisons will pay 26p per litre

The increase was announced after Asda said on Thursday it would also pay 28p per litre. This means that Aldi, Morrisons and Asda have committed to pay more than the current average price paid to farmers of 23.66p per litre.

Sainsbury, Waitrose, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and the Co-operative have all been paying higher prices and have not been the target of farmers' protests.

The National Farmers Union has warned that dairy producers are facing a "state of emergency" because the price they are paid for milk has fallen by a quarter over the past year. This has taken the price of milk below the estimated 30p per litre cost of production, with the NFU claiming many farms sit on the brink of financial ruin.

The campaign group Farmers For Action organised protests against Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl after the supermarkets refused to follow Tesco and Sainsbury's in linking the price they pay for liquid milk to production costs. The chairman of Farmers for Action has described the row as a "morality issue".

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