Dairy farmers singled out
He told a recent meeting of his County ICMSA officers that many people had gained from the years of strong milk prices, but they must now be prepared to equally share in a downturn, which is into its second year.
He said all sectors from management to workers should carry their share of the downturn, but there is no talk of this and only farmers are being hit.
Mr Quain said that farmers were very disappointed that Dairygold has led the way in cutting the price of milk by 0.55 cent/ litre (2p/gallon). ICMSA will meet with the society tomorrow for discussions.
“We have always looked on Dairygold as price setters, as a farmer-led society that paid a reasonable price for milk, but it is very disappointing that they are among the first to cut the price of milk in 2003, which can lead to a knock on effect with other processors,” he said.
He called for greater transparency in returns from added value products, as it was not clear to farmers where the returns from such products are going.
Former ICMSA President Frank Allen said the only products taking significant volumes of milk were cheese, powder and butter and there was a lot of competition in the home market for added value products. The Irish market does not have the population to take large volumes of these products, he said.
