Four supermarkets confirm 10 cent price drop on own-brand milk

Four Irish supermarkets have announced reductions on the retail price of own-brand milk products by up to 10 cent.

This is the second cut to the price of milk which the competing retailers have announced since May.

Aldi said it will reduce the cost “all its own-brand milk products by an average of 10 cents”, but the date for when cost savings will be passed on shoppers has yet to be confirmed.

Lidl has also confirmed that a 10 cent reduction in the price of its two-litre carton of milk from, €2.19 to €2.09, has been implemented from today.

Meanwhile, Tesco said its own-brand two-litre fresh milk will be priced at €2.09, down 10c, from Monday, July 3.

And Supervalu confirmed it would implement a similar cut from Monday, according to PA.

Lidl said the move will see “€3 million in savings passed directly” on to its shoppers in Ireland.

Chief Executive Officer of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland JP Scally said the company is “very conscious of the cost-of-living challenges facing our customers”.

“We have dropped the prices of hundreds of household staple items in recent weeks, and we will continue to drop prices on the items that matter most to our customers.

“We were the first retailer in Ireland to drop the price of milk in May and we’re proud to be leading the way once again with this latest price cut,” he added.

Group Managing Director at Aldi Ireland Niall O’Connor said: “We review the market on a daily basis to ensure we remain the best value retailer. Our real-time focus means we can respond quickly.”

Meanwhile, Tesco Ireland Commercial Director Joe Manning said the company will “continue to work closely with our suppliers to pass on price cuts to our customers whenever we can”.

Independent.ie has contacted Dunnes Stores and Supervalu’s parent company, the Musgrave Group, for comment.

In May Tesco, Aldi, Lidl , Supervalu cut the price of staple products including milk, bread and butter.

At the time, farmers warned that a supermarket price war on milk could be highly damaging for them.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) today said the latest cuts are also worrying.

“IFA would be concerned that a price war on milk could do serious damage to those farm families who specialise in producing fresh milk rather than milk which is converted into products with a longer shelf life,” an IFA spokesperson told Independent.ie.

“Farmers have faced huge increases in production costs. However, those who specialise in fresh milk produce all year round, including over the winter months, have even higher costs. If these farmers do not get a return to cover the extra costs involved, they will change to producing milk for manufacturing.”

The spokesperson said the number of farmers who are committed to supplying milk all year round has “declined significantly” and while consumers might see price cuts as a positive development, “it risks the medium to long term sustainability of local fresh milk producers”.

Last month, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said that a move by Tesco Ireland to reduce prices on 700 items by an average of 10% “could be a significant turning point”.

The Government has been put under pressure by opposition parties to take action on ensuring high grocery costs are not fuelling supermarkets’ profits, after major retailers announced reductions in the cost of milk, butter and bread in May.

At a meeting of the Retail Forum, Minister of State Neale Richmond said that retailers had committed to reducing costs of products where their input costs had reduced.