Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that supermarkets (a) do not sell British milk below the cost of production and (b) include British milk under their Fairtrade agendas.

All operators in the supply chain should receive a fair price for their goods. We regularly bring together supermarkets, processors and farmers through the Dairy Supply Chain Forum to discuss issues such as collaboration, risk management and market volatility. I am meeting industry leaders shortly to discuss what more can be done to get through this volatile period and help to build a long-term resilient dairy industry where businesses can thrive.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) was set up to help suppliers if they feel they are being treated unfairly by retailers, and we encourage dairy suppliers to use the GCA where they feel the grocery code has been breached.

The Fairtrade mark is a private initiative which can be used for products which have been sourced from products in developing countries.