British farmers begin three-day produce strike

UK - Consumers are being urged to stock up as farmers launch a series of strikes over the prices supermarkets pay for their produce.

Members of the pressure group Farmers for Action will withhold supplies of milk, meat and vegetables today, tomorrow and Friday, with more protests threatened before Christmas.

Organisers hope at least 2,000 farmers will join the action.

Farmers for Action said that dairy farmers are being paid just 17p a litre for milk, compared with a price of 27p in 1995.

John Cumming, a dairy farmer and the strike co-ordinator for Scotland, said that the action would involve "milk, beef, pork, vegetables - anything produced on a farm".

Chairman David Handley, a dairy farmer in Monmouthshire, said the strike will put pressure on retailers to make sure primary producers "get a substantial return for their product".

Source: The Telegraph

2 November 2005