ICMSA predicts Irish milk price to hit 40cpl rise as Fonterra increase to their highest price ever paid

The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Dairy Committee has said that the association is confident that that the next round of price announcements scheduled for the end of the first week of November will see a rise in the prices paid to Irish milk suppliers. Gerald Quain said that the international demand for dairy products was solid and set against declining supply figures was moving prices up significantly as evidenced in the latest Dutch quotes. Mr. Quain cited Fonterra’s decision announced on Monday 25 Oct to settle on a $8.40 per kgMS as the price to be paid to its member-suppliers. He said that this is the joint highest price that the NZ giant has ever paid to its member-suppliers and comes as US production slows down due to the increases in feed costs.

Mr. Quain said that Fonterra had weighed-up all the contingent factors and were still able to settle on a price range only achieved once before. He did not see any grounds for assuming that Irish Co-ops could not arrive at the same conclusion.

“We expect the Irish Co-ops to look at the same market as Fonterra and come to the same conclusions as Fonterra did. We also expect the Irish Co-ops to move up their price to member-suppliers in the same way as Fonterra and we’d remind the Co-ops – not that we need to because they’ll know this from their own stores operations – that dairy inputs are already eating through these milk prices. This is not a case of extra profit for the farmers; this is a case of using the increased milk price to try and offset the increased input costs,” he said.

“ICMSA confidently expects all Co-ops to rise their farmer milk price in line with international markets and pay the corresponding price for milk supplied this month and milk price should now be in the region of 40 cents per litre”, he concluded.

Ends   26 October 2021

Ger Quain, 086-3623041

Chairperson, ICMSA Dairy Committee

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office