THE PRICE OF milk has been cut by some of the largest supermarkets in the country.
Lidl announced that its in-store milk will be reduced by 10 cent from today, and it was followed hours later by Aldi, Tesco and SuperValu which all announced a similar reduction.
The move comes amid a cost-of-living crisis following the breakout of war in Ukraine, but it has been criticised by Labour as an example of the “price gouging” conducted by some supermarkets who were now taking part in a “race for publicity”.
The reductions have also angered the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) which said it would result in financial pressure on producers.
Announcing the price reduction, the chief executive of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said the change came about following following a recent “reduction in the cost of milk production”.
“The past few months have posed significant challenges with rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, and we know this has been tough for our shoppers as well as our suppliers,” JP Scally said.
Labour finance and enterprise spokesperson Ged Nash described the move by some Irish supermarkets to reduce the price of milk as a “tacit acceptance that Irish consumers are being ripped off”.
Nash reiterated his calls for the Government to examine price caps across essential food items to help working people, adding that it needs to work with regulators to “stamp out this ‘greed-inflation’” in the sector.
“We see today a race for good publicity between Irish supermarkets as they announce price reductions for milk,” the Louth TD added.
“This is good news for shoppers, and it essentially confirms what I’ve been saying for weeks – price gouging is endemic throughout the grocery sector in Ireland.”
Nash said supermarkets must also commit to meaningful price reductions across the range of other products they sell.
“Butter is up 21% year on year, eggs are up 20%, vegetables up over 10% and it’s having a huge impact on working families nationwide.
“We need to see transparency in pricing and an acknowledgement from the Government that something has to give.”
Meanwhile, IFA liquid milk chairman Keith O’Boyle said a “price war on milk” could do serious damage to farmers who specialise in producing fresh milk rather than milk which is converted into products with a longer shelf life, such as butter.
“If these farmers do not get a return to cover the extra costs involved, they will change to producing milk for manufacturing,” he said, further claiming that the price cut could risk the sustainability of Ireland’s fresh milk production.
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