Lakeland CEO Michael Hanley told young farmers that the co-op has well-developed export markets to deal with Brexit and that the co-op believes that opportunities will arise out of Brexit.

Speaking at the well-attended annual Offaly Macra na Feirme and AIB agri seminar in Tullamore on 5 December, Hanley said the co-op receives daily calls from new entrants or farmers wishing to convert from tillage to dairy.

The co-op is the third-largest milk processor on the island and processes 1.2bn litres of milk a year.

Hanley stated that Brexit had not dampened supplier enthusiasm, with a survey of Lakeland suppliers showing that 46% of suppliers intend to increase milk output.

Overall, the co-op expects an annual increase in milk ouput of 5% each year from its suppliers due to dairy expansion in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Brexit

As one of the co-ops to receive milk from both sides of the border, Hanley said that the co-op had put a great deal of thought and research into the future of the co-op.

“We believe that a lot of opportunities will arise from Brexit.

“We export to 80 countries, [Britain] is only one of those countries. We export to 79 other countries.”

The Lakeland CEO also highlighted the increasing world population, with more people living in Africa and Asia.

Chinese market

An important export market for Lakeland is China.

“We have a good route to market in China now. I wouldn’t like to have all our eggs in the one basket in China, but we have a good route to market there.”

However, the theme of the event was “Ireland – an island in global agriculture”, and Hanley reiterated the importance of export markets to trade.

“The product has to leave the island and there’s great opportunity for product that does leave the island”.

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