LacPatrick Dairies has decided to hold the price for milk supplied in December, both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The board of LacPatrick Dairies met earlier today (Monday January 22), and held the price at 29.45p/L in Northern Ireland and 35.75c/L for suppliers in the Republic of Ireland.

The prices include a 0.2p/L Red Tractor bonus in Northern Ireland and a 0.25c/L Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) bonus in the Republic of Ireland.

Suppliers in Northern Ireland also receive a 1p/L winter bonus on top of the base price, while Republic of Ireland suppliers receive a 3c/L winter bonus.

This decision falls in line with previous processors, which have also announced similar decisions to hold milk prices for December supplies.

LacPatrick Dairies chairman Andrew McConkey said that weakness in the global dairy markets continues to be a concern.

“We are happy to be able to show this commitment to all our suppliers by holding the price again for December,” the Co. Monaghan farmer said.

However, there are difficulties ahead. We are facing into what is likely to be a challenging year in terms of milk price with the global market lagging well behind current milk prices.

“As always, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and we commit to return the highest possible price to our suppliers,” McConkey said.