Tirlán will pay a milk price close to the mid-30s in cent per litre for the next four months, according to the CEO Seán Molloy. Speaking on a webinar organised by the co-op for milk suppliers, Molloy said that the market is experiencing severe volatility and it’s hard to predict prices beyond three to four months.

“Over the next four months or so, it is our view that our average base manufacturing price will be somewhere close to the mid-30 cent per litre. Currently, we are paying somewhat ahead of the markets, but this reflects our desire to support milk suppliers over what are very high-cost milk production months,” Molloy said.

Last year saw the highest milk volume ever processed by the co-op, with a 7.4% increase on 2024 levels to 3.234bn litres resulting in an extra 40,000t of product on to the market. Despite this increase, Molloy said that they ended the year with near record low level of stocks in hand.

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Tariffs

The new retaliatory tariffs announced by China on EU imports is “a significant issue” according to chief operating officer Jim O’Neill.

O’Neill said that 60% of the product manufactured at the Lough Egish UHT cream plant in Co Monaghan is destined for the Chinese market, which now faces a 42.7% tariff on top of the existing 15% tariff.

Molloy said that approximately 8% of the Tirlán workforce has been reduced over the last few years, with 212 staff exiting the business as part of a planned restructure.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Tirlán has taken over the operation of the Kilkenny Cheese plant it owns jointly with Royal A-Ware. In addition, Tirlán is going to market and sell up to 7,000t of soft cheese from the factory in 2026.