Press Release December 8, 1999	Contact: Elisa Odabashian, Policy Analyst 415-431-6747 Consumers Union West Coast Regional Office

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, alerts consumers and the media that consumers could save nearly $16 million on whole milk in January alone from recent decreases in the farm price.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has lowered the farm price for whole milk by $.50 per gallon in December, 1999, and will drop the farm price another $.15 per gallon in January, 2000. With an average of 24.5 million gallons of whole milk sold per month in California, consumers could save nearly $16 million on whole milk in January alone, if supermarkets pass along to consumers the full savings of these recent farm price drops.

"Supermarkets can start the millennium off right by giving milk consumers the full $.65 drop in the farm price," said Elisa Odabashian, Senior Policy Analyst for Consumers Union. "By January, supermarkets will be paying that much less per gallon for milk than they were in November-consumers should be given their 'milk money' at the checkout stand." Historically, when the farm price drops, many supermarkets do not pass along the full savings to consumers, though consumers typically pay the full cost of farm price increases. Continued pressure by consumers and the media should be put on supermarkets to pass farm price decreases for milk on to consumers.