Dale Farm: Global milk market now 'grossly over-supplied'
Dale Farm group chief executive, Nick Whelan, has said the recent downturn in global dairy markets is due to rises in milk production that arose from a number of factors.
He said: “We have seen international milk volumes rise significantly over recent months, coming off the back of lower dairy product volumes which has lifted milk price in the past year.
“With feed prices across the globe subdued, a very favourable milk/feed price ratio has been the impetus to drive production at farm level.
“Locally, the favourable economics and excellent growing conditions have compounded milk volumes.”
Whelan noted that in Northern Ireland, milk production levels have increased significantly.
"At Dale Farm, we are experiencing growth of 7% this autumn when compared to the same period in 2024, which is in addition to over 8% growth from the year before," he explained.
"Internationally milk volumes are predicted to grow in 2025 by 2%, which is exceeding global demand.
“These are staggering figures. The end result is that we now have an international milk market that is grossly over-supplied as all the main milk producing nations are in growth mode, hence the significant fall-off in dairy product prices witnessed this autumn.
“We will be advising our milk producers on this basis. The reality is that milk price is headed below cost of production in 2026."
Meanwhile Dale Farm’s new cheddar cheese plant at Dunmanbridge in Co Tyrone is now fully operational.
Whelan said: “We are currently hosting visits for groups of our producers from across Northern Ireland to view the facility.”
Dunmanbridge facility
Dale Farm has invested £70 million in its new cheddar cheese and whey processing and production facility.
This represents one of the largest ever single investments undertaken by a Northern Ireland agri-food company.
According to Whelan, 200 million litres of milk have already been processed by the new plant.
He explained: “The investment demonstrates our commitment to the next generation of Dale Farm producers as well as our customers.
“The investment is already paying off as we are extending our reach and servicing customers throughout Europe, North Africa, and South-East Asia.
“Our plan is to build on all of this for the future.”
Meanwhile, plans to build on the sustainability levels achieved by Dale Farm across its milk production and processing platforms continue at pace.
“Building economic and environmental sustainability within the business makes sense in every regard and is a fundamental requirement of all our customers going forward,” Whelan said.
