Delivering the RDS Economic Lecture in Dublin this Tuesday, Ornua’s chief executive Kevin Lane said he had seen improving returns for the co-op’s core products over the past four to five months.

“We are heading hopefully to that 30c/l price, whether it be the first quarter or second quarter of next year – ideally the first quarter, provided market returns can sustain it,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Lane also said that volumes exported by Ornua grew by 28% this year, reaching 60% of all Irish dairy exports. “We’ve had fairly significant growth through processors putting extra product through us, in particular cheese, butter and spreads,” said Lane. “We’ve built new routes to market, we’ve built new infrastructure, we’re driving our brands harder and we’re acquiring companies that do further processing.”

Listen to a discussion of Ornua’s performance and milk price expectations between Kevin Lane and Irish Farmers Journal editor Justin McCarthy in our podcast below:

Listen to “Ornua's chief executive Kevin Lane” on Spreaker.