ICMSA calls for milk price correction

THE Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association claimed yesterday that an inexplicable and glaring gap has emerged between the price being received by farmers for their milk and the market returns being received by the country’s co-ops.

ICMSA Dairy Committee chairman Dominic Cronin, noting that a number of co-op board meetings are due to take place over the next few weeks, said it was imperative that this utterly unacceptable gap was closed.

He said the gap between the Irish Dairy Board’s on account price and the price being received by farmers now stands at 9c/litre (41c/gallon).

In the case of a 50,000-gallon producer — and in the event of the co-ops failing fully to pass back that increased price in July — the gap represents a loss of €2,460 for that month’s milk.

These losses are simply not acceptable, he said, calling on those co-ops who have set their July and August milk prices to carry out an immediate review.

Mr Cronin singled out the state’s biggest milk processor, Glanbia, as the co-op that the ICMSA felt should be taking a lead in the matter.

He said the situation was clear-cut.

“In the absence of a concentrated attempt by the co-ops to address the milk price gap, suspicion would grow that what we are witnessing is an attempt to slow down the return of profits to farmers instead of continuing to cut costs at co-op level.”