Dairygold’s milk price remains 25.5c/l including VAT for September. The co-op’s decision follows similar moves to keep the price unchanged at Kerry and Lakeland last week.

Glanbia Ingredients Ireland cut its base price by 1c/l to 24c/l last week, with Glanbia co-op adding 1c/l in support for its members.

IFA National Dairy Committee chair Sean O’Leary said last week that news of decreasing milk output from New Zealand should push international dairy prices up, with many analysts predicting another rise in the price of dairy commodities at this Tuesday’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction.

“While we must always take predictions and analysis with some caution, it is clear to me that output volume trends from New Zealand, now at peak, are crucial to market balance, and there is little doubt that the volumes are set to continue falling, possibly dramatically, with consequences on global dairy prices which are already starting to show,” O’Leary said.

“Irish farmers need to see the benefit of those trends sooner rather than later – their cashflow situation next spring will be difficult enough, even with stable milk prices in the interim. I urge all co-op board members, meeting this week and next, to hold their September milk price, and make a commitment to holding at least till year-end,” he added.