Dairygold chief executive Jim Woulfe has called on the European Commission to use its full range of dairy market supports to help farmers and dairy co-ops get through the unfolding crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Woulfe said dairy markets are in a very difficult place right now following the collapse of the €600bn foodservice market in Europe as well as sharp falls in the price of milk powder.

“The agri-food industry been deemed an essential service by the Government. So how do you support an essential service? There are mechanisms there. The COVID-19 pandemic is not an Irish problem. It’s a global issue. And it’s at moments like this that the benefits of EU membership must come through,” said Woulfe.

“No dairy processor could have catered for this. The full toolkit of market supports available in Brussels should be used right now,” he added.

McDonald's

Last week, McDonald’s and many other branded restaurant chains closed their doors in a bid to halt the spread of the virus and protect their staff. The shuttering of the foodservice industry has sent shockwaves across the European food industry.

The shutdown of McDonald’s caused Schreiber Foods, one of the largest cheese companies in the world, to temporarily close down its plant in Germany. Schreiber’s plant in southern Germany supplies McDonald’s with large volumes of processed cheese and is a customer of a number of Irish co-ops.