but at slower pace

Some pick-up in milk prices in the first half of next year, but not to the extent of the uplift in 2013, has been predicted by sources in AIB.

In the longer term, the outlook is positive, says the bank’s agriculture newsletter, which also foresees output rising in the EU, perhaps by more than 8%, after milk quotas are scrapped in April.

If recent estimates of rising global demand are accurate, the international market should remain well-balanced, and this should maintain the trend of comparatively high milk prices, albeit with continued volatility due to weather, and other short-term factors, say AIB.