Kerry Dairy Ireland has confirmed the milk price it will pay to its suppliers for August, deciding to reduce its price.

The Kerry Dairy Ireland milk price for July milk supplies is 47.53c/L, including VAT, quality and sustainability bonuses.

This is down from the 49.03c/L offered last month for milk supplies in July.

The processor said that based on Kerry Dairy Ireland’s average milk solids for August, the milk price return inclusive of VAT, quality and sustainability bonuses is 53.59c/L.

At EU standard constituents 3.40% Protein and 4.20% butterfat the milk price is 51.94c/L, inclusive of VAT.

In a statement today (Tuesday, September 16), Kerry Dairy Ireland said that "EU dairy commodity prices, particularly butter and cheese, have dropped sharply".

"The decline is driven by strong milk production across key exporting countries and weaker demand.

"Prices are likely to remain under pressure in the near term unless demand improves," the processor added.

Last week, Lakeland Dairies announced that it would reduce its milk price to farmers for August.

The board of Lakeland agreed a price of 47.25c/L at 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein for August milk in the Republic of Ireland.

The price in inclusive of the 0.5c/L Sustainability Incentive Payment.

Lakeland confirmed that the price for August is a reduction of 1c/L on the price paid for July.

According to Lakeland, prices are facing downward pressure, driven by very strong milk supply in all markets and a weakening in consumer demand, caused by inflation and lower spending power.