Skimmed milk powder (SMP) intervention limits have been reached this week, hitting the 218,000t revised threshold set by the European Commission.

Ireland placed 27,324t of SMP into the scheme. On Monday alone, 4,355t of Irish powder - more than half of the EU total - were offered into intervention in last-ditch efforts to take volumes off the market.

A spokesperson for the Commission said it is going through the process of getting approval for a new arrangement. This may involve increasing the threshold.