Almost all milk processors have now declared their base price for September.

While there has been some further upward movement in price, for the first time in five months, others opted to hold their base price.

The upcoming winter bonus payments from October to December, and reduced demand for butter, is making processors more cautious about increasing base prices for the remainder of the year.

Lakeland was first to set a price and it is holding its base at 29p/l but has paid producers a 1p/l bonus on all milk delivered in September.

It is understood that this 1p/l bonus is due to improved returns on sales of butterfat earlier this year, and is intended as a one-off payment.

Glanbia Milk and Fivemiletown increased its September milk price by 1p/l, bringing it to a base of 29.4p/l. When adding in its year-round supply bonus, this puts its producers on an all-in base of 30p/l.

Strathroy Dairy is the other processor to increase its September price by 1p/l. This brings suppliers to the Omagh-based processor on to a base of 30p/l.

Dale Farm has raised its price by 0.5p/l to a base of 30.2p/l. Once the 0.3p/l loyalty bonus is included, its suppliers are effectively on a base price of 30.5p/l.

Glanbia Cheese announced it is holding its base price at 29.25p/l, the first time it has not increased its price since April of this year.

GDT

This week’s GDT auction was down 1%, bringing the index to US $3,204/t, which converts to a milk price of 32.4p/l before allowing for processing costs. The latest UFU milk price indicator is also down slightly to 31.11p/l, reflecting the reduced demand for butter. EU industry figures point to a potential 3% increase in butterfat supplies in 2018 with EU milk production expected to rise by 0.7% to 1% next year.