Shoppers face 5% rise in cost of milk

Jersey Dairy said rising costs could be passed on to shoppers

The cost of a litre of milk in Jersey has increased by 5%.

Jersey Dairy said rising "packaging, utility, and freight costs" meant it was having to charge suppliers more.

That charge could then be passed on to shoppers as well, said the firm.

It means the average litre of milk is now 7p more expensive.

'Significant cost increases'

Eamon Fenlon, managing director of Jersey Dairy, estimated the average retail price of milk would be about £1.60 per litre if the increase was passed on to consumers.

He said the firm had "done our best to keep this increase to a minimum" in the face of higher costs.

"We are very mindful of the cost of living challenges faced by our customers and we've worked hard to keep this increase to a minimum by improving efficiencies at the dairy and on our farms, but we we have faced significant cost increases," he said.

Mr Fenlon said the firm was committed to charging the "true value" of milk to protect the local industry.

"If you look across the water to the UK, increasingly farmers are leaving this sector because they simply can't continue to supply cheap food to the UK consumer at prices they are used to," he said.

"We can't allow that situation to happen here in Jersey."

It follows an increase by 15p a litre in the average wholesale price of milk in 2023.

In 2022, Jersey Dairy put up the price of milk by 8p a litre.

The price of a litre of milk on the island in shops in 2022 was between £1.24 and £1.29.