A BLISTERING attack on lack of fair play and transparency in the food chain was launched on the eve of the Royal Cornwall Show by Cornwall National Farmers’ Union chairman Colin Carter.

Mr Carter claims that, while the wholesale price of cheese – into which much of the south-west’s dairy farmers’ milk is made – has increased substantially, there has been scarcely any improvement in the price paid for the raw material.

He said: “This is leaving farmers bereft of cash to invest in their businesses at the same time as regulatory costs, primarily related to the environment and requiring huge investments in new infrastructure, are squeezing them dry.

“This lack of fair play and transparency in the food chain is a malaise currently afflicting all farming sectors.”

Paul Griffith, NFU South-West dairy board chairman, said: “We have been seeing dairy commodity prices rising across the board, but only a tiny trickle has been finding its way back down the food chain to farmers, without whom there would be no milk. This is either down to daylight robbery by the big retailers or lack of negotiating skills by the processors supplying them on our behalf.

“Farm gate prices must rise as the market is signalling that they should, so that, after years of poor returns, farmers will have the confidence to keep producing milk and make desperately needed investment in their businesses. This would have a direct knock-on effect throughout the rural economy, helping to protect thousands of local jobs, vital in the current economic climate.”