IFA President John Bryan has said that the Irish Dairy Board’s April index increase of 2.58c/l to 31.9c/l must be fully passed back to farmers in an April milk price at least equal to 28c/l + VAT.

According to Mr Bryan, with low supplies and strengthening demand, even allowing for the overhang of intervention stock, industry experts agreed the outlook was for firm markets and prices for 2010.  However, he warned against complacency on necessary industry restructuring, which he said remains absolutely essential regardless of market returns.

Monaghan IFA Dairy Committee Chairman Seamus Brennan said, “There is clear scope to increase milk prices to higher levels and much more rapidly than was expected earlier this year, and co-op board members must see to it that the maximum return is passed back to farmers to offset some of the huge financial losses suffered last year.” However, Mr Brennan warned that improving markets cannot be used as an excuse by co-ops “to avoid making the hard decisions” to deliver on necessary industry consolidation, co-operation and restructuring in order to secure the long term future of dairying in Ireland.

Mr Brennan concluded, “We need to see renewed vigour in the efforts by industry to deliver greater efficiencies, centralised marketing, R&D and milk testing, and to maximise the value added to our high quality Irish milk through consolidation and co-operation. We in IFA will continue the series of regional meetings with board members which we started in Macroom at the end of April, to keep the focus firmly on this topic over the coming weeks.”