Lakeland Dairies has increased its May farmgate milk price by 0.5c/l to 34.15c/l, excluding VAT, for milk at 3.6% fat and 3.3% protein.

The unconditional bonus of 1c/l paid in previous months is now incorporated into the May base price.

In Northern Ireland, Lakeland Dairies has also replaced its unconditional bonus with an increase of 1.2p/l in its base milk price to 29.2p/l.

It is the first processor to set a milk price for the peak milk supply month of May.

Stability in markets

Lakeland Dairies said that there is currently a reasonable level of stability in the markets for dairy products.

“European milk supplies have been restricted due to a prolonged period of colder weather to date and this is serving to maintain a level of balance in supply and demand.

"While global dairy prices remain prone to fluctuation, they are holding steady for now.

“Demand for food ingredients is recovering on a post-pandemic basis, but this is not yet consistently the case across all markets.

“In the food service category it remains to be seen if there is latent demand from consumers to return in large numbers to the food-service and quick-serve markets as countries worldwide continue a cautious reopening including ongoing vaccination programmes,” it said.

Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the market closely in the coming weeks.