Concern for milk producers after major haulage firm 'in administration'
Some farmers in Shropshire and Mid Wales face not having milk collected after reports that a haulier has gone into administration.
Milk haulier Lloyd Fraser, which has a depot at Four Crosses in Montgomeryshire, and collects milk from farmers across Mid Wales and Shropshire, has reportedly entered administration, and had its operating licence revoked.
The firm, based at Rugby, has depots across the country.
Dairy giants Arla and Muller, which operate in Shropshire, said they were working to ensure that milk continued to be collected from their farmers – to prevent it having to be thrown away.
Jonathan Wilkinson, NFU Cymru's milk board chair, and a Mid Wales farmer and councillor, said there was concern from local producers over what will happen in the next few days – and for the workers whose jobs are at risk.
He said that Lloyd Fraser collected more than one million litres of milk a day in Mid Wales – and that inevitably some would have to be thrown away in the coming days and hours as farmers struggle to store what they have, or to get it collected before it goes out of date.
He said: "I think people were pretty concerned initially. It is lucky that the two major milk buyers, Muller and Arla, have both been very proactive in trying to get alternative arrangements made.
"It is just the short term, for the next day or two as those plans come into action, it's a question of 'what are we going to do with our milk?'."
