Inability to pay plea ‘not an option for Glanbia’

GLANBIA must decide whether shareholders and investors are going to receive priority over dairy farmers, said IFA President Padraig Walshe at this week’s suppliers’ meeting in Kilkenny.

He said the Glanbia board and management cannot plead inability to pay as a justification for recent milk price cuts, with profits of €70m pencilled in for 2006.

Mr Walshe called for a Glanbia commitment on milk prices for 2006 of 0.5 cent per litre above the average of the national KPMG milk price survey.