The boards of other co-ops have been urged to follow the example of Lakeland Dairies and increase their December milk prices by IFA dairy chair Tom Phelan.
Lakeland announced a 1c/l increase to its price, with suppliers set to receive 29.7c/l excluding VAT for December.
The move follows an increase to the Ornua PPI for December to a milk price equivalent of 30.64c/l excluding VAT.
Phelan said this was nearly 2c/l more than the average paid by co-ops for November and added milk price increases were “well and truly overdue”.
Mr Phelan urged the other co-op boards to plan for further increases before the new season commences in order to “get back to paying a sustainable milk price for 2020”.
Markets
Market indicators for Europe and the global market had improved quite significantly over the last five to six months, according to Phelan.
“Still, our co-ops have not increased milk prices as much as they clearly can, and we urge them to correct the situation ahead of spring.
“The high solids which underpinned milk cheques in the autumn will have crashed when milking resumes next month and farmers will find themselves under serious cashflow pressure,” he said.
“A milk price increase of 1c/l on December milk supplies is the minimum co-ops must pass back to farmers, but they must also start planning to deliver sustainable milk prices for 2020, and this will require further increases before the season recommences.”