Arrabawn Co-operative Society reported record turnover for 2022 that passed €500m, an almost 50% jump from 2021’s €340m.

Profit at the Tipperary-based operation more than doubled to €9.589m from the previous year’s €4.09m.

The surge in key financial figures was driven by the incredibly volatile pricing environment last year. The co-op also cited challenges in sourcing raw materials for feed and the availability of fertiliser.

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Despite these challenges, the society managed to increase profitability while reducing net debt by €9.5m to €24.1m.

The average milk price paid to Arrabawn’s 1,000 suppliers across Munster, Leinster and Connacht was a record high 60.57c/l for the year.

'Remarkable year'

CEO Conor Ryan said: “2022 was a remarkable year for Arrabawn, aided by an exceptional year for dairy markets. But a huge amount can be attributed to our record investment programme since 2018.

"2022 was, however, a challenging year in many respects, with costs up significantly, not least fuel and power, and there were also some challenges around availability of fertiliser due to the Ukraine-Russia situation.”

During the year, Arrabawn disposed of its milk sales book and van sales fleet.

Chair Edward Carr said: “Our environmental targets are the biggest challenge the industry is facing. Arrabawn is assisting its suppliers in this through its involvement in a range of programmes.

"These are important for the implementation of technologies that are already available and new ones that become available, without reducing the competitiveness of the Irish agri-food sector.”