Milk prices continue to rise, with processors announcing further increases for May supplies, making it 10 months in a row that all purchasers of NI milk have added to their monthly price.

Dale Farm and Glanbia Cheese applied the largest increases, raising their respective base prices by 2p/l. In the case of Dale Farm, the latest price increase puts its suppliers on a base of 42.05p/l with its 0.3p/l loyalty bonus included.

However, while the price increase has been welcomed, a number of farmers have expressed frustration that Dale Farm did not take the opportunity at this week’s board meeting to follow other processors with a top-up payment on milk committed under fixed price schemes.

The differential between the co-op’s base price for conventional and fixed price milk is currently running at 16p/l.

Chasing pack

Elsewhere, the 2p/l price increase by Glanbia Cheese means it will pay a base of 41p/l for milk supplied last month.

On Monday, Lakeland Dairies set the trend for higher prices with a 1.5p/l increase that puts its suppliers on a base of 41.5p/l. NI’s largest processor has said that its average payout for May is 43.03p/l, up 0.93p/l on the published figure for April.

However, Glanbia Ireland remains out in front with a starting price of 42.9p/l for May, up 1.25p/l on the previous month.

The Glanbia base is 39.15p/l, to include its 0.4p/l sustainability bonus. Added to that is Glanbia’s agri-income support payment which is worth 3.75p/l for May, up from 2.5p/l in April.

Price change

Across all processors that have set a base price for May, the average is 41.86p/l, an increase of 1.95p/l on April and 12.5p/l higher than the corresponding month last year.

For a dairy farmer milking 100 cows with yields averaging 30l/day, the year-on-year price differential is worth an additional £11,000 in monthly milk sales. Full analysis of May milk prices will feature in next week’s milk league.

MPI

Meanwhile, the latest milk price indicator (MPI) from the Ulster Farmers Union has increased by 0.39p/l to 48.72p/l on the back of higher prices at last week’s GDT. European and UK markets have also strengthened. The Dutch butter price reached €7,250/t while UK butter surpassed £6,000/t, with cheddar breaking the £5,000/t barrier for the first time ever.

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