Tipperary farming: farmers feel let down by co-op milk price cuts
ICSA says pricing looks like a 'Brexit strategy'
Farmers are feeling let down that their co-ops’ Brexit preparation strategy seemed to rely pretty heavily on cutting and further talking down milk prices, using farmers’ hard work in terms of increased butterfat and protein content and extra volumes to ‘soften’ the blow, according to IFA national dairy chair Tom Phelan.
“With the exception of the West Cork Co-ops, which exceeded it, all other co-ops have paid less than the Ornua Product Purchasing Index for the majority of the last 10 months," he said at this Wednesday's Virginia Show in County Cavan.
In fact, those co-ops had even widened the gap into July, with the main purchasers cutting their milk prices to levels over 1cpl lower than the Ornua PPI would have returned for the month, he said.
However, Mr Phelan acknowledged that Cavan-based Lakeland Dairies had come closest to the PPI over this period.
“While we recognise that butter market prices have eased, powder prices have picked up on EU markets and in the case of WMP at this week's GDT auction. Latest European average and spot quotes suggest returns for an Irish product mix equivalent to a milk price of around 31cpl, including VAT, 1.5cpl more than some of the larger Irish co-ops are paying,” he said.
Mr Phelan called on co-ops to communicate how they will at least hold milk price levels to year end.
He said that this was essential to protect farmer confidence, which was such an important ingredient in the sustainability of the Irish dairy success. Co-ops must not undermine that confidence.