Dairygold under pressure to repay aid

DAIRYGOLD, which is to close a cheddar cheese packing facility at Felinfach in Wales with the loss of 115 jobs, was under pressure last night to pay back a reported £1.2 million (€1.75m) it received in British public funds to help set up the business.

The co-op also announced yesterday that it plans to outsource its British cheese packing requirements to Kerrygold’s operation in Leek, Staffordshire.

Dairygold’s operation at Felinfach has a capacity of 1,000 tonnes of cheese per week. It is involved in packing the co-op’s branded cheese and other private contract packing.