Northern co-ops holding merger talks
Discussions are well advanced between Ballyrashane in North Antrim, and Town of Monaghan, based south of the border.
Ballyrashane Creamery has bases in Coleraine, Co Derry, and Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.
It claims to be the first dairy in Ireland to collect bulk milk from farms, in 1956.
Last year, it collected about 95m litres of milk, mostly from 107 farms within 15 miles of its Coleraine HQ.
Town of Monaghan handles and processes 500m litres from 1,000 farmers, at Coolshannagh, Co Monaghan (where the head office is located), and at TMC Dairies (NI) Ltd in Artigavan, Co Tyrone.
Ballyrashane and Town of Monaghan have said a new merged entity would create a powerful new force in the Ulster dairy sector, with the scale and ambition to win in the increasingly challenging and competitive marketplace.
