Dairygold has announced that it will hold its base milk price of 40c/L for supplies in April, and will continue to pay a weather/fodder relief payment, albeit at a reduced rate.
The relief payment, introduced last month at a rate of 2c/L, will be paid at a rate of 1c/L for April.
The base price is paid at standard constituents of 3.3% protein and 3.6% fat and is inclusive of sustainability and quality bonuses, as well as VAT.
Dairygold said that its attainable milk price for April is 41c/L, including the base price and weather/fodder relief payment.
This April milk price will equate to an average farmgate milk price of 44.2c/L, based on the average April 2024 milk solids achieved by Dairygold suppliers.
A spokesperson for Dairygold said: “The Dairygold board recognises the significant challenges that the continued adverse weather conditions caused for our milk suppliers through April, and therefore remained committed to paying a strong milk price for April.
“Dairy market returns continue to be uncertain, primarily due to the ongoing weaker demand, as global milk supply generally remains flat. The Dairygold board will continue to monitor markets closely and review milk price on a monthly basis,” the spokesperson added.
Dairygold is the latest processor to announce its milk price for April supplies, following Kerry Group and Lakeland Dairies.
Earlier this week, the board of Kerry Group announced that its price for April would remain unchanged from the previous month’s figure of 41c/L.
Based on Kerry’s average milk solids for April, the price return inclusive of VAT and bonuses for its suppliers is 43.71c/L.
A Kerry Group spokesperson said: “The rebound in global dairy prices observed in late 2023 and during the first quarter of this year has decelerated in recent weeks due to weakened demand.
“Despite this, supply-side challenges will persist in the short to medium-term, which is supporting dairy commodity prices in the absence of a substantial increase in demand,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, the board of Lakeland Dairies has also confirmed that the base price for milk supplied in April has been held from last month.
A base price of 41.9c/L – based on 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein – will be paid for April milk to Republic of Ireland-based suppliers.
And sticking with Lakeland, the processor said that this week that it will phase in a payment method based on milk solids over the next two years in Northern Ireland following consultation with suppliers there.
Between July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2026, the processor will move towards an A+B-C method of paying for milk supplied in Northern Ireland, where A is the price paid for protein, B is the price paid for fat, and C is the cost of processing the milk.