Irish Retailers and Dairies Cannot Use International Price to Damage Liquid Milk Production

IFA National Liquid Milk Committee Chairman Teddy Cashman, today (Tues) warned retailers and dairy processors against using the pressure on international milk prices to undermine year-round milk production in this country.

Supermarkets in the UK will be meeting with farmers’ representatives today to address the pressure on dairy producers as the price paid to them falls below the cost of production.

 

Teddy Cashman said, “Negotiations in France in recent weeks resulted in a well-overdue recognition that volatile returns from global commodity markets are neither relevant to retail returns, nor are they a sustainable basis in pricing milk destined for the domestic consumer market.  The French example is something our own fresh milk chain needs to learn from”.

 

“We know that Irish retailers are seeking to use the global dairy market downturn to squeeze lower prices from dairies. Retailers will have to recognise that this is not justified, as regardless of international commodity price trends, consumers continue to pay stable retail prices”, he said.

 

“In the Irish market, retail milk prices have been very stable in recent years.  I would urge our dairies and retailers to recognise this fact, and to work together to ensure adequate remuneration of winter milk production, despite the major base price cuts suffered by all dairy farmers in the last year,” he concluded.