Mr. Cormac Cunningham:

No is the first answer but the second answer is that we have no control over that. Quite often when we sell milk we sell it on an annual basis and the price is fixed. Unfortunately, we have no control over what the retailer does with it after he gets it. It creates serious havoc for us because as the Deputy says one can lift the label and see the UK mark. Every dairy product processing plant anywhere in Europe has its individual stamp. Ours says UK but it also says NI. If the Deputy looks closely he will know that it comes from that region so it can be traced back to us.

The retailers can make whatever decision they want. Quite often they say that they will run three or four promotions a year, each of which will last a week or a fortnight. They do not come back to us to say they are running a promotion for two weeks and ask us to give them the milk cheaper. It does not work that way. It is their product. They bought it at a price, and can do what they want with it. Unfortunately, that is the control they have over it, which is fair enough. If one buys a car and wants to drive it into a tree one can do so.