The European Commission will invest £20 million in helping to promote the dairy sector.

Milk producer prices have slumped over the past year and so the rational behind the dairy project is to boost demand and therefore prices through promotional activities.

The EU Commission plans to build on previous marketing projects with additional dairy product promotion programmes.

It is calling on professional agricultural organisations to submit proposals to member states by 15 October.

These proposals will then be forwarded to the commission before the end of October, before it makes its selection by the middle of December.

Programmes can run for one, two or three years and involve promotional projects for milk and milk products within the EU.

Initially proposed earlier in the month in a report on the dairy market situation, the new round of programmes will receive £20m in EU funding, to then be doubled with national money.