Kerry Group will therefore pay 26.7c/l excluding VAT on all manufacturing milk supplied in October. The price is based on milk supplies at 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat.

So far this month, Kerry group and Glanbia Ingredients Ireland are the only two co-ops to have added 2c/l to the price of milk. However, all the co-ops so far, including Lakeland and the Carbery group, have raised their October milk price as more life enters the dairy markets.

In October, the purchase price index (PPI) increased for the fourth consecutive month. The index came to 95.9 in October, up from September’s PPI of 92.2.

According to Ornua, October’s PPI equates to a farmgate price of 27.9c/l for October milk.

Yesterday’s Global Dairy Trade auction saw prices rise by 4.5%.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal this Tuesday, Ornua’s chief executive Kevin Lane said farmgate milk prices could reach 30c/l in the first or second quarter of 2017 as Ornua’s share of Irish dairy exports rises sharply.