O’Leary urges co-ops to retain current milk price
Mr O’Leary said the 10.8% fall in the average Global Dairy Trade auction price was influenced by speculations of strong production increases in Europe post-quota. However, he said that many EU states are unlikely to have a surge in milk output.
“I would urge our co-ops to hold their nerve, and to hold milk prices through peak while greater clarity develops as to European dairy dynamics post-quota,” said Mr O’Leary.
He said the Global Dairy Trade auction, at 23,000t, saw 42% less product traded than the same auction in 2014.
“The Global Dairy Trade results are symptomatic of the new volatility and the current uncertainty,” he said. “I would be slow to over-interpret it. In a milk market outlook report published in early March, the EU Commission predicted a 1% to1.2% increase in EU milk production in 2015, not a significant rise, with just eight member states potentially increasing production, and most others either stagnating or reducing output.”
