It's imperative that milk processors deliver a significant price increase for July milk supplies, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) dairy chair Stephen Arthur has said.
This comes following Lakeland Dairies' announcement on Tuesday of an increase in base price of 1.7c/l to 43.2c/l, excluding VAT, for July milk deliveries.
This price increase reflects recent improvements in global dairy markets, in particular butter, which is performing well in the European markets.
“Cashflow continues to be a major issue on many dairy farms due to ongoing high costs. We need processors to step up and play their part to help alleviate some of those pressures at farm level,” Arthur said.
Capacity
“There is clearly capacity for milk price to significantly increase. Dairy co-op board members meeting to set their July milk price need to follow the lead set by Lakeland Dairies and deliver a strong increase to their base milk price in line with market returns,” he said.
Dairy farmers, he added, have put down a horrendous 12 months, leaving a "massive toll on cashflow".
"The coming months offer dairy farmers a chance to improve their balance sheet, but they can only do this if their processors step up with a strong milk price,” he concluded.