According to DairyCo’s latest analysis farmgate milk prices received by dairy farmers have decreased in May across the UK.
Using the most recent DEFRA figures, it says the average UK farmgate price stood at 32.55ppl in May. This was a 0.71ppl (2.1%) decrease on the April average price. The May 2014 price was 2.57ppl (8.6%) higher than the same month last year.
The GB (England, Scotland,Wales) average price was 32.89ppl in May, a 0.46ppl (1.4%) decrease on the previous month and an increase of 3.02ppl (10.1%) compared with May 2013.
The Northern Ireland (NI) DairyCo says the average for May was 30.83ppl, a decrease of 1.93ppl (5.9%) compared with April. However, the May price is 0.27ppl (0.9%) higher than the previous year. In Northern Ireland it says a larger proportion of milk goes into commodity markets and therefore the NI price tends to reflect the rises and falls in the commodity markets more than GB.
Annual data from DairyCo shows that the UK farmgate price has increased by 3.56ppl (12.7%) to 31.64ppl in 2013. In GB, there was a 3.22ppl (11.3%) increase from the 2012 average, to 31.69ppl in 2013. The average NI price stood at 25.82ppl in 2012. There was a 5.50ppl (21.3%) increase in the average price in 2013, resulting in a price of 31.32ppl.