Connacht Gold introduces forward pricing for manufacturing milk

Connacht Gold Co-op has introduced a forward-pricing scheme for a small portion of its manufacturing milk — worth around 30c/litre.

The base fixed price has been set at 28c/litre, plus VAT, for milk at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein. Based on the co-op’s A+B-C pricing system, suppliers should get close to 30c/litre for the milk committed to the forward pricing scheme.

Participation by suppliers will be on a voluntary basis. Details of the pricing structure have been worked out following consultation with customers and milk suppliers and were approved by the board of Connacht Gold.

The market-related fixed price is targeted at around 10% of manufacturing milk. Suppliers are being given the option to commit a portion of manufacturing milk to the fixed price structure. The scheme will operate for milk supplied from Apr 1. It will be reviewed at the year’s end.