Remember Accrington Stanley? Remember Welsh Milk is Good For You!

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Assembly Candidate, Marc Tierney has written to the Welsh Government seeking support for dairy and lamb producers as the amount paid to them for milk and meat hits a critical price point.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with the Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans at the Pembrokeshire County Show this week, Marc said:

“Farmers are angry at the way prices for their products have fallen and rightly so.  I’ve seen out of season New Zealand lamb on supermarket shelves at the same price per kilo as new season Welsh lamb. It is having a huge impact on their ability to carry on producing.”

In a letter to the Deputy Minister, Marc Tierney noted the impact a drop in domestic demand, increased export costs due to the strength of the pound and global over-supply are having on price.

Labour’s Marc Tierney, who lives on the Pembrokeshire Carmarthenshire border said:

“As a child, I remember milk being marketed heavily on TV through the Milk Marketing Board, dissolved under the Tories in 1993.  I’m sure many will remember the iconic 1980s advert where ex-Liverpool player Ian Rush is quoted selling the benefits of milk with little known team ‘Accrington Stanley’.

“Since then, milk consumption has declined despite it still being far healthier than most other drinks on the market, especially for children.

“Last year, the European Union earmarked €2.5million to promote milk across several EU member states including the UK in a project led by the Danish Dairy Board and its UK partner.  This money must be used now to get milk back on the menu for families across Wales. But it also needs to be used to distinguish Welsh milk as a quality product.  I hope the Welsh Government will do all it can to work with producers to ensure this funding is used to maximum effect.  I will be discussing this with Rebecca Evans on Wednesday.”

To promote lamb across certain European Union states, the British Agriculture Horticulture Development Board has been charged with supporting the industry to increase sales.

Marc Tierney believes the current crisis focusses the attention on how Welsh produce is branded more widely, saying:

“I have long supported efforts to introduce a Welsh quality mark for all sorts of produce grown, processed or significantly made in Wales.  It has worked for decades in Ireland, with the ‘Guaranteed Irish’ symbol and more recently the ‘Love Irish Food’ brand.  Similarly in France, Normandy is hailed as a dairy region synonymous with high quality produce.  I hope that we can move to developing a similar quality assurance mark and associated marketing that encourages producers and importantly, support consumers to choose Welsh or local as part of their buying habits.  We need a system that defines all Welsh produce so often poorly promoted by the supermarkets.”