Arla deal shifts UK milk market

UK – Wal-Mart-owned supermarket Asda has named Arla Foods UK as its sole liquid milk supplier in a move that has rocked the UK milk market.

Asda, which is the UK’s second largest supermarket chain after Tesco, was previously supplied by Arla, Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman – although Arla already supplied more than 50% of this milk.

The Asda milk will be produced by the Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a group of 1,300 farms that supply direct to Arla.

The news sent both Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman shares tumbling. Reacting to the news, Wiseman issued a statement saying that the business lost was worth around