His comments came as the Ornua PPI for September stands at 184.5 compared to 184.6 for August. “The PPI shows that consumers are willing to pay for quality Irish dairy products. This is very good to see as these returns are required to cover the large cost increases that farmers and processors face. On-farm costs are up over 50% since January 2021 and this figure will continue to rise due to spiralling energy and fertiliser prices,” he said.
“It’s important for processors to pay the maximum price possible for milk this month. Farmers are now facing into the high-cost part of the year and there is real uncertainty at farm level whether it will make financial sense to continue milking cows on with the large costs involved,” he added.
Stephen Arthur also noted that if processors want to ensure a supply of milk, now is the time to give some confidence to suppliers through the milk price.