Hayes Haulage boss, Tony Hayes, says the decision has cost four permanent jobs and two trucks so far.

"I am only using three of our nine trucks now and I have sold two," he said this week.

Mr Hayes said he had been advised two months ago that the carrying contract had gone to a Dutch equity firm, trading as Scotch Refrigerated Transport, and work had ended two weeks ago.

Rather than negotiating a price with Hayes, as had been done in the past, Bega Cheese had called tenders for the haulage contract which was won by Scotch.

"Bega Cheese more or less told us what they were prepared to pay us and we couldn't do it for that amount," he said.

Mr Hayes said he was disappointed to see Bega Cheese using a foreign firm as its Australian carrier, especially when it was such a proud Australian icon.

Hayes Haulage recently decorated two of its trucks with giant photographs showing the family transport business over five generations.