UK &#8211, The Milk Group, a farmer-owned milk marketing and processing business, has expanded its membership base with the recruitment of the Essex & Hertfordshire and the Surrey, Kent & Sussex (SKS) producer groups.

The two groups, who voted to join last month, take the Milk Group’s membership to 100 producers and increases the volume of milk traded by the organisation annually by 100 million litres to over 700 million litres.

The move reflects a growing trend towards more producer groups joining together to strengthen marketing position and improve milk supply efficiencies, said Milk Group chief executive Robert Audas.

As well as supplying milk to over 30 customers, the Milk Group supplies bulk dairy ingredients to the prepared foods industry and produces a range of soft cheeses, including Brie, Camembert and goats’ cheese.

Supply contracts start on 1 April.