Kerry Group milk suppliers have said that today’s (Tuesday, June 20) protest in Co. Cork is just of the start of their campaign to secure higher milk prices.
Around 500 dairy farmers took to the streets in Charleville calling on Kerry Group to bring their milk price “into line with other processors”.
Kerry Group’s milk price is now 3c/L behind the price being paid by neighbouring processors and is at the bottom of the 2023 milk price league, suppliers said.
Last week Kerry Group said it would pay suppliers a base milk price of 37c/L for May supplies, including VAT, for milk at 3.3% protein and 3.6% butterfat.
This represented a drop of 1c/L by the processor on the base price for April milk supplies.
In a statement to Agriland, Kerry Group said that “global dairy markets have struggled throughout the first half of 2023 and remain volatile.
“Kerry continues to monitor dairy market returns and is fully committed to its contractual agreement to pay a like-for-like leading milk price to suppliers.”
However, suppliers such as David Horan from Brosna, Co. Kerry said that the milk price is currently below the cost of production.
“I’m here to support other farmers and myself to get a reasonable living,” he told Agriland.
Suppliers
Today’s protest was supported by the board of Kerry Co-op and farming organisations, including the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) and Macra.
“The concern here is the substantial drop in milk price in particular by Kerry, taking a much more radical approach to the drop in milk price than other cooperatives.
“We have to remember as well even during last year farmers were dealing with massive inflation and cost of production as well and that has continued into this year,” Tim Cullinan, IFA president said.
“Kerry seems to be the only co-op that has cut the price of milk this month and they’re nearly 3c/L now behind the main processors,” Kenny Jones, Kerry IFA chair, said.
Pat O’Keeffe, chair of Cork North IFA, added that it was “unsatisfactory for a large multi-national company to treat their farmers in the way they’re treating them at the moment”.
Noel Murphy, chair of the ICMSA Dairy Committee, acknowledged that milk has been under pressure for the first months of the year, but all analysis showed that the market has stabilised.
“The Kerry price of 37cpl is unquestionably below what the market is returning at this time,” he said.
Murphy said the Kerry Group milk price is putting its suppliers “at a considerable disadvantage” and called on the processor to reverse its decision to cut the price for May milk supplies.
Letter
During today’s protest three of the milk suppliers, Michael O’Flynn, Seamus Crawford and Gerald Quain delivered a letter to Kerry Group management.
The letter claimed that the processor had failed to honour its contract with milk suppliers to deliver the leading milk price.
The letter also referenced historic issues including arbitration between Kerry Group and milk suppliers.
“This is only the start of this campaign,” O’Flynn said.