Kerry is the first milk processor out of the traps this month to announce its price for July supplies.

According to the processor, the Kerry Group base price for July milk supplies is up by 1c/L to 32c/L including VAT.

This is the first July milk price to be announced with others expected to soon follow.

Commenting yesterday at the group’s interim management report presentation for the first half of 2018, Kerry Group CEO Edmond Scanlon said: “I’m probably feeling more optimistic today than I was in February when we were chatting last.

I think a milk price in the thirties is a good place for us to be. There seems to be a bit of stability there at the moment; there seems to be a balance there between supply and demand.

“Generally speaking, we would be fairly optimistic that the milk price would hold up.”

PPI drops for July

Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that Ornua’s Purchase Price Index (PPI) for July of this year has dropped to 107.3.

This equates to a milk price of 32.1c/L including VAT, based on Ornua’s product purchase mix and assumed costs of 6.5c/L, the Irish dairy exporter explained.

The drop in the July 2018 index reflects weaker returns in the month for commodity butter and skimmed milk powder (SMP), it added.

The latest index has been adjusted from 109 in June 2018.

In the sixth month of the year, Ornua’s PPI recorded a jump of almost four percentage points compared to the May equivalent – which stood at 105.4.

The increase recorded for the June PPI represented the second consecutive monthly rise, after the May index jumped by five percentage points.