Dairy industry ‘needs to be restructured’

THE long-term outlook for the Irish dairy industry is favourable, but it is dependent on a restructuring plan being adopted, Kerry Group chief executive Stan McCarthy told the Teagasc national dairy conference in Killarney yesterday.

Mr McCarthy told the 700 delegates it is imperative that Ireland restructures its dairy industry in order to compete globally.

Structural challenges in the industry include loss making and low margin businesses, seasonality which leads to underutilised processing assets and limited access to large consumer markets for fresh dairy products. It also has predominantly low-value commodity production, comparatively higher input costs and a poor investment history.