The board of Glanbia Co-op has announced that no penalties will be applied to milk suppliers that exceed their peak milk allocations in May or June in 2022, following the latest review of milk supply forecasts for 2022.
The board has also decided not to deduct any penalties from the small number of suppliers that exceeded their individual peak allocation for April.
For the year to date, milk supply to Glanbia is running 2.3% behind the same period last year, mainly due to the “unprecedented surge” in farm input costs, the co-op said.
Glanbia Co-op chairperson John Murphy noted: “We believe that the suspension of penalties for April, May and June of 2022 is appropriate, given the latest milk supply forecasts and the fact that we have available milk processing capacity as we approach peak.
“Investments in our facilities mean that we can handle additional milk volume this year compared to last year. However, milk supply volumes remain lower than last year, so we believe that it is now appropriate to remove the threat of any penalty for oversupply in the peak period in 2022,” he added.
Murphy expressed his appreciation to suppliers for taking steps to ensure their peak milk supply was in line with their individual peak allocations.
The delay in the planning approval process for a new cheese plant at Belview, Co. Kilkenny necessitated the introduction of a Peak Management Policy for the months of April, May and June in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
On April 20 last, the co-op board announced that each individual milk supplier’s peak milk allocation for April, May and June of 2022 would be increased to their 2023 figure.
The changes announced today apply to 2022 only, with the Peak Management Policy continuing to apply for 2023 and 2024. Milk suppliers are asked to continue to use Glanbia Connect to track their peak supply versus their allocation.
The board said it will continue to monitor the situation and keep milk suppliers informed of developments.