A LOCAL MP has called on people to support Britain’s dairy farmers.
Dairy farmers face an uncertain future following the collapse of Dairy Farmers of Britain - a co-op that provides a tenth of the UK's milk, 1bn litres each year.
Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley, said: “The UK dairy industry is worth around £8billion per year to the economy and employs around 75,000 people.
"The industry is particularly active in rural areas and is intrinsic to the rural economy.
“It is a great shame that Dairy Farmers of Britain have gone into receivership, meaning that the 400 members still involved will only receive 20p per litre of milk that they produce. That is a loss on every litre that they produce.
“It is not difficult to jobs" target="_blank">work out that that economic situation is unsustainable.
"That will mean that a new generation of dairy farmers simply will not want to join the industry.
“As customers we do not want to pay exorbitant prices for any product.
"However, I do feel that people are prepared to pay a little more if they are supporting local, British businesses.”
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