NYC Councilman: Dairy Buyers Getting Milked

Crying over spilled mile is allowed with prices this high. There’s been an 83% drop in the wholesale price of milk in the past 18 months, but some New Yorkers are still paying as much as $6 a gallon, according to City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens). The culprit? The state agency responsible for controlling the cost of milk has dropped the pail and “stopped enforcing,” said Gioia, who surveyed prices citywide.

State law pegs retail milk prices to a “threshold price” that’s set by the state Agriculture and Markets Department based partly on the wholesale price.

But the agency stopped publishing the threshold price last year, making it difficult for stores to know what to charge.

“We have a state agency that’s not doing its job,” Gioia said.

The result is huge variations in milk prices, even among nearby stores. Manhattan had the widest price deviations of any borough, with the gallon price ranging from as low as $2.25 to as high as $6.

The survey did not identify individual stores, and Gioia said he doesn’t blame the retailers for the overpricing as much as the state agency.

Last year, after a similar survey found lax price enforcement, Gioia asked the department to improve communication with retailers.

“But the Department of Agriculture went from bad to worse,” Gioia said.

He called on the agency to resume publishing the threshold price – as well as post local average retail prices on the Web.

Officials with the department did not return calls yesterday.

Consumers can report suspected milk price-gouging by calling (518) 457-1772.

Retailers who want help on milk pricing can call (518) 457-5731.

{NY Daily News/Matzav.com Newscenter}