A small west coast milk dairy says spiralling freight costs makes it financially unviable to send consignments to the Western Isles.
According to Wee Isle Dairy, road freight operator, DFDS, are now charging them four times as much compared to when the enterprise started supplying their whole milk to Lovats in 2020.
Based at Tarbert Farm on the Isle of Gigha, the dairy operates in a niche market selling old fashioned pasteurised whole milk sold in glass bottles from a herd of 60 cows.
The company explained: “For the past five years we have been delivering our milk to shops in the Outer Hebrides.
“Shops such as Lovats Supermarket, the Manor Filling Station in Stornoway, and the Bayhead Shop in North Uist have had our milk in fresh each week.
“DR Macleod gave a good service, at a decent cost. Then they were bought by DFDS, and now DFDS have tripled the cost for us, making it no longer viable for us to send milk up north.
“We hope that some alternative to DFDS is created soon, before they do too much damage to businesses in the region.”
Danish-owned DFDS is a large player in the UK road haulage sector and also runs shipping
division of DFDS A/S operating a network of 25 shipping routes with 50 freight and
passenger ferries in northern Europe.
They entered the Western Isles market in 2023 with a takeover of DR Macleod’s haulage activities.
Wee Isle Dairy use their lorries as they are the only firm to offer chilled transport for perishable foods.
The dairy said: “Our one litre bottles of milk were collected from DR Macleod’s warehouse in the central belt, and delivered to Lovats for a cost five years ago of £3.60 per crate.
“We have never been much in the way of volume for them, so it was more of a space filler in their large chilled lorries. I think we never got higher than 12 crates per week.
“Last year it had grown to £4.80 a crate. Still within the bounds of reason.
“Now as of this week (DFDS) want to charge us £17 per crate. And so we have had to tell Donna at Lovats that we can no longer supply her with our milk.”
DFDS has been approached for comment.
The company faces expensive circumstances in its Western Isles operations resulting in increased their delivery prices last month to “ensure economic viability,” following a “fundamental restructuring” of operations. DFDS have been badly hit locally with reduced trucking activity since Bakkafrost halted exporting salmon from Lewis. The Marybank fish factory shut last year.
DFDS says it has engaged with Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Transport Scotland and CalMac to highlight the impact on services to the Western Isles.
Haulier slammed after claims delivery prices for a crate of milk soar from £3.60 to £17 in five years
18 January 2025
