Cheap milk popular but farmer concerns remain

Research shows the 'home brand', dollar-a-litre milk of the two major supermarkets is by far the most popular.

The Roy Morgan research found both supermarkets have a rate of 22 per cent of people who purchased their milk in a four-week period.

That puts them both well ahead of their nearest competitors, which were Dairy Farmers and Pauls.

Former dairy farmer John Giumelli, who left the industry in part due to damage done by the selling of cut-price milk, says it is a worrying situation.

"It's not just today that it's a concern, it's been a concern for the last 10 years and particularly for the last three years, when Coles have had this dollar-a-litre milk and they've dragged the price of milk down in all shops," he said.

"It's not a sustainable price.

"Well the future is quite bleak. The only thing that can actually pull it out is demand from overseas markets, that can yield a higher price back here for the local farmer."

Source: ABC News, 2 August 2013