This article is from page 52 of the 2007-08-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 52 JPG
CO-OP are coming under increas- ing pressure to increase the amount of money being paid to farmers for milk.
The ICMSA launched a fresh at- tack on what they deemed an “inex- plicable and glaring milk price gap” between the price being received by farmers and the market returns being received by the country’s Co-ops.
The organisations milk chairper- son, Dominic Cronin, said last week that it is imperative that this “utterly unacceptable” gap was closed when a number of Co-op Board meetings take place this week.
“The gap between the Irish Dairy Board’s On-Account Price and the price being received by farmers now stands at 9c/litre.
In the case of a 50,000 gallon pro- ducer and in the event of the co-ops failing to fully pass back that in- creased price in July, the gap repre- sents a loss of €2,460 for July milk,” he said.
“These losses are simply not ac- ceptable and ICMSA is urging those Co-ops who have set their July and August milk prices to immediately IKeaTA CoA An te loa 08 i
Cronin singled out the state’s big- gest milk processor, Glanbia, as the Co-op ICMSA felt should be taking
a lead in the matter.
Meanwhile the IFA’s National Dairy Committee Chairman, Rich- ard Kennedy, said last week that he believed the Irish Dairy Board would soon have to adjust their SMP and butter prices further for the month of July, in view of continued EU spot market price increases for both prod- ucts, and many other commodities.
“The current EU average price for SMP is €3,600/t, 150/t more than the current IDB price including the June retrospective payment, while EU butter prices reach € 3,500 on average, €200/t more than the Irish Dairy Board are paying,” he said.
“Current EU butter and SMP pric-
es, calculated on the same basis as the IDB index, reach the equivalent of 47c/l. That is 4c/l more than the current Dairy Board index.
“It is clear to me that an adjustment to the IDB prices, which I believe must happen soon, will make those returns available to those among our processors who do not already have access to them because they do not trade outside of the Dairy Board.
“Contracted prices with manufac- turers of cream liqueur, infant formu- lae or chocolate crumb, are all based on the IDB index plus a premium – so that returns for these products are 1n- creasing every time the IDB increas- es its commodity prices.”