The first milk price of 2022 has been confirmed, with one processor putting 40c/L on the table.
The board of Lakeland Dairies has officially set the processor’s milk price offering to farmer suppliers for December milk, opting to increase its price by 0.5c/L in the Republic of Ireland.
This will bring the price here to 40c/L including VAT and a lactose bonus, for milk at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Lakeland has increased its milk price by 0.4p/L to 31.9p/L.
The processor said in a statement this afternoon (Thursday, January 13): “Global dairy markets are relatively strong with a general balance in supply and demand worldwide and strong demand in Asia.
“The recent global surge in the new variant of Covid-19 has had a moderating effect on economic activity across every continent, including disruption and restrictions which have affected normal global trading patterns and market trends over several weeks,” it added.
“Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the market,” the statement concluded.
Last week, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) called on processors to break the 40c/L mark.
The IFA said that global milk supply remains tight, while input costs for farmers are continuing to increase.
The association noted the Ornua Purchase Price Index (PPI) for December, which climbed to 135.5 (equating to a price of 41.6c/L).
When adjusted to include the Ornua Value Payment, worth €3.72 million, the equivalent farmgate price is 45.6c/L, according to the IFA.
In other dairy market news, the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) returned to growth last week.
In the latest auction – event 299 – the index slightly increased by 0.3%, with an average product price of $4,247/MT and 30,685MT of product sold.
Following that event, the GDT index figure stood at 1,336, a marginal increase on the 1,333 recorded on December 21 – but a little way off the 1,354 figure seen on December 7.