‘Dramatic and bold move needed to halt decline in dairy markets’

A dramatic and bold move is needed by the European Commission to halt the decline in dairy markets, according to the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), the umbrella body for co-ops.

It said the current 20c per litre intervention price should rise to 26c per litre to counter recent developments.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with the European Commission in Brussels, ICOS dairy executive, TJ Flanagan, said that Fonterra (a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative) auction prices had almost halved since the spring. While he welcomed recent moves to introduce storage aid for butter, skimmed milk powder and some cheeses, he said the Commission’s failure to consider targeted export refunds was disappointing.