The co-operative has announced that the amba on-account price for conventional milk will remain unchanged at 19.05ppl.
Mr Oakes said: “Official figures from AHDB show that milk volumes for May were down 4.8% on the year, with daily deliveries now down 9.2% down on the same time last year.
“UK market indicators are also showing improvements with AMPE delivering 18.9ppl for June (up 12% on the previous month) and MCVE up 19% to 19.6ppl for June.
“That said we do understand that the Arla milk price is based not only on UK factors but on movements across Europe. It is concerning that we are yet to see production drop in many other member states - we need farmers across Europe to react to the market downturn just as our own have done.
“This price hold should not lead other milk buyers to follow Arla’s decision on price and does clearly call into question the practice of “basket pricing” used by a number of processors.
“While initiatives such as Arla’s ‘Farmers Milk’ and its consumer facing campaign are positive we really do need to see an upwards movement on price, and soon. From an Arla member perspective I’d want a guarantee that Arla is doing all it can to roll out these retail initiatives outside the UK too.”