Irish Dairy Board coming under pressure to increase milk prices

DAIRY farmers are putting pressure on the Irish Dairy Board to increase the price it is paying per litre of milk in line with rising prices in other markets.

ICMSA dairy committee chairman Pat McCormack, said that dairy markets have improved considerably again and the latest indication was the result of the Northern Ireland milk auction where the price increased by the equivalent of 2.6 cents per litre. He said that any study of international markets could only lead to the inescapable conclusion that the current IDB prices are now falling seriously behind the market realities.

Mr McCormack said: “Irish dairy farmers established and continue to support the Irish Dairy Board with that body’s sole objective being to return the maximum possible price to dairy farmers. ICMSA’s view is that this is not happening at the present time and the IDB price must correct it immediately.

“The IDB cut the November price for both butter and SMP and did not increase the December price in spite of abundant evidence that the market warranted it, so farmers expect that there will be a substantial increase in the January price.

“Dairy farmers need to see that the Irish Dairy Board is delivering for them.”

Mr McCormack said that with the EU Commission setting a minimum price of €2,250 per tonne for the sale of SMP out of intervention this week, and with the average price of feed quality SMP in the EU at €2,172 per tonne, the current price being paid by the Irish Dairy Board for SMP (skimmed milk) does not reflect market reality.

The price being paid by the IDB for both SMP and butter must be increased to bring them back into line with developments in the marketplace, he said.

No Irish Dairy Board spokesperson was available for comment yesterday.