RABDF hint at Anglo-Irish dairy merger

The possibility of a merger between a southern Irish co-op and First Milk in the UK has been raised by Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers chairman David Cotton.

He is a member of Milk Link, the co-op which has agreed to merge with Scandinavia’s Arla Foods.

Cotton predicted an Irish intervention, and also raised the possibility of Dairy Crest being purchased, in a Reuters news agency report which also quoted Milk Link chief executive Neil Kennedy saying, “Our view would be that there is likely to be further consolidation.”