NESTLÉ has cut its growth forecast for 2016 to 3.5 per cent, down from the 4.2 per cent it predicted earlier this year.

The Swiss company - which has a factory in Dalston - has blamed falling prices for this change.

Paul Bulcke, the company's chief executive, said: “In an environment marked by deflation and low raw material prices, we continued to privilege volume growth, resulting in real internal growth at the higher end of the industry in both emerging and developed markets.

"Pricing remained soft but increasing. Our growth was broad-based across categories, allowing us to gain or maintain market share in most of our businesses.

"We are making progress in addressing our challenges and driving our different initiatives amidst a generally softer trading environment."

Nestle's global sales for the first nine months sales of 2016 were worth 65.5bn Swiss Francs (£53.9bn), an increase of one per cent from last year.

The company's plant at Dalston employs 330 people and has been on the outskirts of the village since 1952. It processes 65m litres of milk each year and almost one billion sachets of Nescafe Cafe Menu products.