NI milk prices get closer to Britain

Having seen a gap in prices paid for milk between NI and Britain of nearly 6p/l last summer, that difference has narrowed significantly in the period since then.

Official data recorded by DAERA in NI and DEFRA in Britain shows NI milk prices have averaged 37.05p/l from January to May, which is just 0.99p/l behind the 38.04p/l average across the Irish Sea.

In NI, Dale Farm had the highest starting price for milk of 37.8p/l in June 2024 and once this is adjusted to the standard base of 4.2% butterfat and 3.4% protein used in Britain, it equates to 39.92p/l.

That is similar to the base price offered in Britain by Freshways of 39.5p/l and the Barbers price of 40.25p/l, although it does fall short of Arla’s 40.89p/l.

Over the first half of 2024, Dale Farm’s base, once adjusted to the higher solids used in Britain, averaged 37.95p/l, which is just shy of the 38.25p/l average from its main competitors manufacturing cheese across the Irish Sea.

12-month period

While the difference in prices has narrowed in 2024, when compared over the rolling 12-month period from June 2023 to May 2024, the gap is still close to 2.5p/l.

For a dairy farmer in Britain producing 750,000l annually, in line with the NI monthly supply profile, our calculations suggest the average price received over the period would be 37.22p/l. Making the same calculation using DAERA figures, farmgate milk price in NI averaged 34.77p/l, which equates to £18,344 in lower annual sales.

Market

Most of this difference in annual sales occurred between June and October 2023 on the back of the market correction seen after record milk prices in late 2022. Prices in NI fell further and faster than prices in Britain, where the market is partially insulated from the global commodity trade, thanks to having around 50% of supply being sold into liquid milk.