More than one in every four litres of milk sold in Ireland last year used imported milk, a new report has found.The annual National Milk Agency (NMA) report found that 156m litres of milk was imported from Northern Ireland into the Republic in 2015, which was up from 145m litres in 2014. There was a 1m litre increase, to 94m litres, in the volume of imported milk sold in consumer packs in retailers last year.
More than one in every four litres of milk sold in Ireland last year used imported milk, a new report has found.
The annual National Milk Agency (NMA) report found that 156m litres of milk was imported from Northern Ireland into the Republic in 2015, which was up from 145m litres in 2014. There was a 1m litre increase, to 94m litres, in the volume of imported milk sold in consumer packs in retailers last year.
It is important to note that processors such as Lakeland Dairies and LacPatrick (formerly Ballyrahshane and Town of Monaghan) as well as Aurvio and Glanbia have milk suppliers both sides of the border.
Overall the total milk pool produced by all milk producers grew in 2015 to 6.3bn litres up 746m litres, or 13%, on 2014 figures. Of that total pool, 93% was used for manufacturing milk, with the remaining 7% used for the liquid market.
Not only is there an increase in the volume of milk being imported from Northern Ireland, farmers are also getting a smaller share of the overall price of a litre of milk and less money in their milk cheque each month.
Despite the fact that the average retail price of one litre of milk has remained steady at €1.05, the farmer’s share has fallen from 36% of the price of litre of milk in 2014 to 30% in 2015.
The average farmgate price for liquid milk fell from 31.63c/litre in 2015 down from 38.5c/l. The average winter paid price in 2015 was 34.85c/l, down from 41.78c/l the previous year.
Supplier numbers down
The number of farms producing liquid milk has fallen in the past 12 months. There were 142 less liquid producers milking cows in 2015.
According to the NMA, there are 17,600 milk producers in total in the Republic of Ireland and of those 1,725 are producing milk in either all-year-round contracts or for a portion of the winter months. The figure of 1,725 is down from 1,867 in 2014. The figure is not startling and can likely be attributed to natural attrition.
Consumption trends
Despite concerns to the contrary, consumption of liquid milk remains strong. The people of Ireland consumed 601m of liquid last year, which represented an increase of 25m litres on 2014. The total value of the fresh milk market is estimated by the NMA to be in the region of €547m.
Three in every four sales of milk are now made in two-litre cartons. The average price for one litre of milk was €1.05 while the average price for two litres was €1.72.
There would appear to be a levelling off in the growth of the own label brand. Almost two in every three (64%) cartons of milk sold in Ireland last year was a retailer’s own label; this was the exact same figure as 2014, which was up from 59% in 2013. Despite the halting of the growth in 2015, this figure is expected to grow in 2016 and beyond.
Looking at Table 2, where consumers are buying their milk has also remained steady in 2015. Tesco lost slight market share to discounters Aldi and Lidl. Exactly one in every four cartons of milk sold in Ireland is through SuperValu.
According to the NMA, “the three largest multiple groupings had a 77% share of the Irish grocery market in 2015, and the five largest multiple groupings had a market share of 94%.”
The NMA was established by the Oireachtas “to regulate the supply of milk for liquid consumption throughout the State”.
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