A committee of MPs says more than a third of the price consumers pay for milk is being lost between the farm and the supermarket. The government needs to end the suspicion and mistrust which plagues the industry, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says.
Of the 50p we pay per litre, farmers get less than 20p and it costs them more than that to produce it.
MPs found that about 18p per litre was unaccounted for.
Apparently this is being swallowed up in unexplained costs by the dairy processing companies which buy milk from farms and sell the end product to retailers, reports BBC environment correspondent Tim Hirsch.
Tuesday's report says the dairy industry suffers from suspicion and mistrust, self-interest and a lack of constructive dialogue.
It claims that last year's price rise in milk had been passed on to farmers.
But it criticises the supermarkets for only agreeing to the increase under political pressure.
Farmers themselves did not escape criticism, with the MPs arguing that more of them should join dairy co-operatives if they want more bargaining power.
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