The board of Glanbia Co-op has announced changes to its Peak Milk Management policy for 2022, following a review of the latest milk supply forecasts for 2022.
Milk supply to Glanbia is running 2.4% behind the same period last year, mainly due to the “extreme and unprecedented” inflation in farm input costs and slower grass growth.
The delay in the planning approval process for a new cheese plant at Belview, Co. Kilkenny resulted in the introduction of a Peak Management Policy for the months of April, May and June in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The main change announced today is that each individual milk supplier’s peak milk allocation for April, May and June of 2022 will be increased to their 2023 figure.
According to Glanbia Co-op, the impact of this relaxation will be as follows:
- For suppliers with less than 400,000L, this will increase their 2022 Peak Allocation by 10%;
- For those between 400,000L and 550,000L, this will result in an increase in their 2022 Peak Allocation of 5%;
- For those with supply in excess of 550,000L, this will result in an increase in their Peak Allocation of 2.5%.
Each milk supplier is asked to review their individual allocations, which are available on Glanbia Connect.
Two additional changes to the Peak Milk Policy for the month of April have been announced:
- The board has confirmed that, for April, the over-supply penalty will be limited to 30% of the prevailing milk price;
- It has also been agreed that the first €500 of deductions incurred in April would be waived for each supplier.
Glanbia Co-op Chairperson John Murphy said: “We believe that these changes are appropriate given the latest milk supply trends versus the available milk processing capacity. The board does not want suppliers cutting back supplies aggressively at a time when processing plants are not at maximum capacity.”
Based on milk supply trends and available processing capacity, the penalty policy for May and June will be reviewed by the board in early May and communicated to suppliers, the co-op said.