UFU Welcomes Milk Auction Result
NORTHERN IRELAND, UK - Ulster Farmers Union deputy president, John Thompson, has welcomed the two pence per litre (ppl) increase in prices following Thursday's Northern Ireland milk auction.
25 August 2009
1 minute read
The average price at the August milk auction was 21.54 ppl compared to last months 19.54 ppl.
Mr Thompson said; “It is some relief to see average milk prices edge upwards at the auction, but it remains the case that farmgate prices still continue to be well below the cost of production. We will need a considerable increase in milk prices before dairy farmers return to any form of profitability. This recent auction result supports the fact that the global market for dairy products is improving and is also due to an overall drop in production. It is our expectation that processors now need to take full advantage of improving market conditions to continue to deliver better prices for farmers through the coming months.”
He added; “The UFU has published a ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ for the Northern Ireland dairy industry and we are now starting to see positive results. We are still progressing discussions with other key stakeholders and this Friday, the UFU leadership team are meeting with United Dairy Farmers to emphasise the urgency of generating better farm gate prices for producers. Further increases in farmgate prices will be essential as we enter the Autumn/Winter period and higher production costs.”
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