ADF officially received the proposal from the UDV on May 10 and any previous interactions or knowledge regarding this proposal were subject to confidentiality, which it respected.
“We are extremely disappointed to now read that ADF allegedly did not act fast enough in assessing this proposal,” ADF chief executive officer David Inall said.
“ADF receives many proposals and ideas to help maintain a sustainable dairy industry.
“We appreciate the effort of anyone who takes an interest in our industry, and we assess the merits of all proposals.“ADF is a national organisation consisting of six state dairy farming organisations.
“It is our responsibility to consider the views of each state’s dairy industry, including their positions on regulation.
“This is an extremely complex and sensitive issue, which requires proper consideration by ADF and our members.”
Mr Inall said any criticism of ADF being slow to act on $1/litre milk is simply wrong.
“ADF has been at the centre of this debate since supermarket retailers introduced their discount milk marketing campaigns in 2011,” he said.
“ADF and our state members played an integral role in urging retailers to increase the price of discount milk to $1.10 per litre, with the full increase being passed back to farmers via their processor.
“Furthermore, in November 2019, ADF lodged a considerable submission to the Senate inquiry into the performance of Australia's dairy industry and the profitability of Australian dairy farmers since deregulation in 2000 where, among other recommendations, we called on retailers to lift the price of generic branded milk to $1.50 per litre.
“These matters should rightly be discussed between industry and government, and not through public debates of this nature.”