COLES' decision to increase the price paid to WA milk processing company Brownes will not be passed on to farmers.
WAFarmers dairy section president Peter Evans said Brownes owner Fonterra confirmed last Wednesday that the five-cent-a-litre increase would not affect current milk contracts.
"They say they are copping the hit in the marketplace because of what's going on," Mr Evans said.
Mr Evans said the increase would influence the price paid to farmers in July after contracts were renegotiated.
"But it is not changing the market place and that is our problem," Mr Evans said.
"We believe milk should be sold at a reasonable price to reflect its value as a food, not as a tool in a price war."
Member for the South West Colin Holt said Wesfarmers chief executive officer Richard Goyder had agreed to a meeting with dairy farmers next Wednesday to discuss the issue.
"My thinking is you've got to influence the people making the decisions and Richard Goyder needs to hear the stories from the dairy farmers themselves about how the price war affects them," Mr Holt said.
"Obviously the debate has moved quite a way with Woolworths admitting it's going to hurt farmers.
"I think legislative solutions are going to be harder to reach as we've got to have a committed federal government to do that and I'm not sure they've got the dairy industry on their radar."
Mr Holt said Coles had always tried to play the high moral ground when it came to wearing the cost of discounted milk but in reality, it was driving prices down.
"And while Coles might be doing that, there's other companies out there supplying milk at cut price rates and they're going to have to pass it on," he said.
Coolup farmer Ivan Clune, who was so upset with Coles before the price increase that he paid for an advertisement, said one good thing about the discounted milk was that it sold a lot more milk.
"But whether the price increase flows through in four months time will be proof in the pudding," Mr Clune said.
"You still end up being somewhat cynical about Coles and Wesfarmers," son Tim Clune said.
He said discounted home-brand milk would still hurt the industry as it was detrimental to branded milk.
"We have been going through a difficult time because of the Challenge milk coming in to the market, as a large amount was exported, and in the next 12 months, the extra volume will push prices down," Mr Clune said.
Mr Evans said WAFarmers would be lobbying politicians this week for an ACCC enquiry into the milk price war.
