Tirlán has confirmed to its suppliers that it will be removing all peak milk supply restrictions for 2023 and 2024.
This was after the co-op removed restrictions that were in place for 2022. Earlier it was confirmed that no penalties would be applied to suppliers that exceeded their peak supplies in 2022.
The peak milk policy was introduced in March 2021, as a measure to control milk volumes during the peak supply months.
These measures were meant to be in place during the months of April, May and June in 2022, 2023 and 2024, partially down to a delay to the construction of a cheese processing facility at Belview, Co, Kilkenny.
Peak milk restrictions
The removal of these measures is likely due to a number of factors, including the beginning of construction of the Belview plant, and a reduction in milk supply in 2022.
Based on the Central Statistics Office (CSO), milk supply from January to July was 0.4% lower compared to the same period in 2021.
The Belview plant is set to use approximately 450 million litres of milk from Tirlán suppliers to produce more than 50,000t of continental cheese each year.
The Tirlán board confirmed that the peak milk policy will no longer apply, following an overall drop-off in milk growth due to a number of factors and additional processing capacity coming on stream.
In a statement the board said: “Milk volumes reduced this year and investments in facilities means that the organisation was able to handle any additional milk volumes this year compared to last year.
“This is combined with the Kilkenny cheese joint venture which is now on track to commence cheese production early in 2024.
“The board and management made all announcements in relation to peak milk policy as soon as there was visibility of peak supply,” the statement added.