The German dairy cooperative Milch-Union Hocheifel is to buy around 30 m kg of milk annually from Union Laitiere de la Meuse (ULM) in Lorraine under a new agreement.

Both dairies have helped each other with supplies for more than 20 years, but have now decided to make the arrangement more official. With expected increases in production from its own suppliers, the deal should take MUH’s annual throughput to more than one billion kg in 2008. ULM, based in Bras sur Meuse near Verdun, collects around 300m kg annually. It does not, however, process any milk and usually sells it on the spot market in eastern France.