Ornua said that it is working with its member co-ops to provide support to farmers who are struggling with fixed milk-price contracts.
In a statement to Agriland, the Irish co-operative outlined that progress is being made on the matter to help milk suppliers.
“As we understand it, Ornua is one of a number of companies who have agreements to purchase fixed price dairy products from Irish dairy processors,” a spokesperson for Ornua said.
“We are very conscious of the challenge these contracts are posing at farm level at present and we are working directly with our member co-ops to provide flexibility and support in relation to our fixed price contracts with them,” they added.
Fixed milk-price contracts
The statement follows comments made by the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
Pat McCormack told a Kerry ICMSA executive meeting on Monday (April 25) that suppliers who signed up for contracts in good faith at between 30c/L and 32c/L “are now well short of the mark” on current milk prices.
Although he said it was a personal decision for milk suppliers to avail of such contracts, the ICMSA president observed that nobody predicted the substantial hike in input costs.
One farmer told the meeting that he was aware of suppliers who have 100% of their milk in fixed-price contracts.
McCormack noted that some processors had come forward with measures to help suppliers in difficulty but it was “nowhere near what is reflected in the marketplace at this time”.
He said that a resolution to the issue needs to be found for very-exposed and indebted farmers, some of whom are young and have expanded significantly.
The ICMSA president said that he highlighted the plight of struggling suppliers in meetings with Ornua and was hopeful an announcement on the issue would be made through the co-op structure.