No more pints of milk? Soaring prices threaten to kill off the traditional pint with cost of bottles delivered to homes rising by 22% to 84p
- The average cost of a single pint of milk has rocketed by 22 per cent to 62p
- Those relying on a doorstep delivery are paying around 84p for a single pint
- The price of milk is set to go up even more, according to analysts
Soaring milk prices could signal the death of the traditional pint as shoppers finding it cheaper to buy in bulk, industry experts have predicted.
The average cost of a single pint of milk has rocketed by 22 per cent to 62p in the supermarkets over the past year, and the few who rely on a doorstep delivery from the milkman are paying around 84p for a single pint in a glass bottle.
But those buying bigger formats such as one or two litres – or two, four and six pints – will be paying less than half that, averaging 30p a pint, according to trade journal The Grocer.
The price of milk is set to go up even more, according to analysts.
Farmers are facing higher costs for the feed they give to cattle as well as fertiliser and fuel for production, processing, packaging and transportation of the product.
The dwindling minority relying on a doorstep delivery from the milkman are paying around 84p for a single pint in a glass bottle
These extra costs also mean the amount produced is falling as farmers cut back or go out of business with industry body, the AHDB, predicting a fall of five per cent – equal to 600 million litres.
Kite Consulting is predicting the current 22 per cent rise to be more like a 50 per cent within weeks as the cost of living crisis continues.
This will affect all formats but the bigger the format, the less – per pint – shoppers will continue to pay with Kite forecasting the current 125p for a four pint container – the most popular being bought in supermarkets – to reach 170p this year, more than double the price in 2015.
Shoppers are not just buying bigger containers of milk for the price. Better technology in production as well as fridges in the home means milk now lasts longer so buying by the pint is no longer the only option for keeping it fresh, said The Grocer’s Adam Leyland.
The price of milk is set to go up even more, according to analysts
He said: ‘Unlike beer, where the pint remains the most popular format, milk sales by the pint have been in long term decline for years, and are dwarfed by sales of other formats, with four-pint bottles, accounting for around half of all sales, the nation’s favourite format.
‘This move away from the pint as common currency has been driven by two things: the rise and rise of the supermarkets (at the expense of the milkmen); and technology, with longer shelf life enabled through ultra pasteurisation and micro filtration, and plastic enabling larger bottles.’
While milk deliveries have increased thanks to a combination of environmental concerns over plastic containers and lockdown encouraging more doorstep deliveries, the costs are likely to affect future sales.
Online shopping also increased during lockdown with many new customers from older age groups who had previously relied on the milkman for their pinta as well as other groceries but now finding it easier to click on supermarket websites for cheaper options.
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