Farmer shareholders of Glanbia urged to attend AGM over prices

FARMER shareholders of Glanbia plc have been urged to attend the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Kilkenny today and make their voices heard about the prices they are being paid for their milk supplies.

IFA president Padraig Walshe said Glanbia’s recently announced €8 million loan package would help with cash flow on some farms.

But it fell far short of what farmers really need – a leading milk price paid by the country’s largest processor. He said farmer shareholders of Glanbia plc must make it their business to attend today’s meeting in large numbers.

They must demand answers as to why the group is paying them a price up to 3.7c/l lower than some of the smaller co-ops operating in the same market, he said.

IFA Dairy Committee chairman Richard Kennedy said Glanbia claims the loan package will be worth 2c/l on April and May milk, and a further 1c/l for June. Producers would be more impressed if the group stated simply the March, April and May milk price will be 22c/l, and there was no obligation hanging over them to repay the loan in two years time. “Glanbia is our largest milk processor... and with its scale, it should be the most efficient,” he said.

“So, why is it paying less for March milk than the 22.3c/l commodity dependent Lakeland Co-op is paying or the 23.7c/l being paid by some of the west Cork co-ops?”

Meanwhile, Munster MEP Colm Burke has said dairy farmers are being asked to accept prices from co-ops that are significantly lower than their production costs and co-ops should examine all possible means to cut their own costs.