IFA dairy chair Stephen Arthur has insisted that co-ops can’t ignore the latest strong increase in the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction and jump in commodity prices.

Whole milk powders went up to €3,625/t while butter went up to €4,839/t. The price for cheese also showed a 1.3% growth up to €3,555/t.

“This rise in commodity prices is equivalent to a farmgate price of over 40c/l for farmers. Movements south of the equator point to a very positive outlook in milk price for 2021. As we approach peak, we will not tolerate processors playing down the price. There is plenty of scope for milk price to rise in the next few months,” Arthur said.

ICMSA

ICMSA dairy commitee chair Ger Quain said the increases made an overwhelming case for increasing February milk prices.

“This latest data means that 11 out of the last 12 results have seen positive GDT returns going back to last September. The other point to note is that while the results are much higher than expected in percentage terms, they are by no means an outlier or ‘out of sync’ in terms of the trend or direction of milk price,” Quain said.

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GDT increase can’t be ignored by co-ops – farm organisations

There has been a dramatic jump in commodity prices in the GDT.