Lakeland Dairies has today (Tuesday, December 12) confirmed an increase in the milk price it will pay dairy farmers for supplies made in November.
A base price of 36c/L (3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein) will be paid for November milk in the Republic of Ireland.
This means that the base price has increased by 2c/L. Qualifying farmers will also receive a 3c/L out-of-season payment.
In Northern Ireland, a base price of 29.25p/L will be paid for milk supplied in November. The base price has increased by 2p/L plus the usual out-of-season payment of 3p/L.
After a challenging year in the dairy industry, there are signs of improving sentiment in the global dairy markets according to the processor.
In a statement, Lakeland said: “The global supply and demand dynamic remains delicately poised as we come out of the peak production season in New Zealand and move halfway through the key dairy buying period of Q4 2023 and Q1 2024.
“Overall, however, the key signals are showing positivity. Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the markets closely in the time ahead.”
Milk price
Last week, it was announced that the Ornua Purchase Price Index (PPI) increased to 125.8 in November 2023.
The increase follows a previous rise to 122.3 in October, which was the first rise after nine consecutive months of decreases in the PPI.
With estimated member co-op processing costs of 7.6c/L (excluding any allowance for processor margin) for the Ornua product portfolio, the indicative price return for November is 37.2c/L, including VAT.
This latest PPI for November is up from the previous month at 36.1c/L.
In addition, the Ornua Value Payment payable to members for the month of November is €3.8 million, which equated to 6.4% of gross purchases in the month (4.8% year-to-date).
Ornua said that the latest PPI figure “reflects stronger market returns through the month of November 2023”.