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Co-ops come under pressure to reinstate March milk prices
By Joe Dermody
Irish dairy co-ops have come under renewed pressure to reinstate their March milk prices as stable trading at yesterday’s latest global dairy trade auction followed a series of upward markets.
Yesterday’s trade auction was stable at a -0.5% average price, and 25,600 tonnes of dairy produce sold. Skimmed milk powders were down 4.8%.Even with a small downward adjustment in anhydrous milk fat of 0.8% to 3.7%, the overall market was stable, with butter milk powder up 2.5% and whole milk powder up 2.7%.
In a market briefing, Davy Stockbrokers noted that global milk prices were likely to continue rising, based upon a decline in global cow numbers and a slowdown in output, particularly in the US.
Though these factors point to a potential upward push on prices, the IFA says most co-ops have cut milk prices by an average of 6c per litre for April and May versus the price offered in March.
IFA national dairy committee chairman Kevin Kiersey said: “The combined price cut of up to 6c/l will represent a loss of up to €13,000 in the income of the average 300,000 litre supplier over their 2012 supplies, and that is nearly 30% of the average gross dairy farm family income for the last three years.
“In these times of extreme volatility, and in the context of rising input costs, this is a major blow to suppliers, and it will make it nigh on impossible for them to make the kind of on-farm invest-ment required to deliver on the post-2015 expansion expected of them.”
Mr Kiersey said European dairy commodity prices have stopped falling and are staging a recovery, citing European quotes for Jun 13.
He said that, since the beginning of the month, butter prices have lifted by €100/t in the Netherlands, €120/t in Germany, and €180/t in France; SMP prices have risen €140/t in the Netherlands, €100/t in Germany, and €70/t in France.
Mr Kiersey said: “Whole milk powder prices are up €40/t, €80/t, and €90/t, respectively, while whey powder prices are up by between €90/t (Netherlands) and €155/t (Germany). We estimate that the average lift in the butter/skimmed milk powders returns is equivalent to an additional 1.5c/l return.
“Furthermore, the 13.5% increase in the latest average Fonterra auction price has also influenced the most recent global market quotes positively, with small increases in skimmed milk powders and butterfat prices for Oceanian and European products traded on the world market reported by the USDA in the most recent week.”