The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers has expressed disappointment over today's joint announcement from the UK's largest milk co-operatives, Milk Link and First Milk, to abandon their merger plans.

"We believe the long term interests of the sector would have been better served by a consolidated and restructured dairy industry. However we have not been party to the detail of the co-ops' five months of merger talks, and the devil is always in the detail," comments RABDF chairman, Lyndon Edwards.

"We trust that Milk Link and First Milk have made the right decision on behalf of their respective members for the time being, however we hope that this deal is not dead and buried and that negotiations between the two co-ops can resume in future. A single, enlarged farmer-owned business of more than 4,400 members would lead to a stronger and more sustainable dairy industry."