Milk auction prices in Northern Ireland have staged a slight recovery, bringing some much-needed relief to the province's beleaguered dairy farmers.
Results from the United Dairy Farmers July auction reveal that 37m litres sold for an average 19.54p/litre compared with 18.83p/litre in June.
This is the highest price so far this year and compares with the market low point of 16.63p/litre in December. But it is still 7p/litre, or 26%, less than this time last year.
The Ulster Farmers Union said the price rise gave a positive signal to dairy farmers. "Of course, the reality is that prices are still well below production costs, but a rise is nevertheless most welcome," said president Graham Furey.
He adds that the UFU is now targeting 20p/litre and beyond. "We have been meeting processors one by one to explore ways to generate better prices for producers, and we will keep pressuring in Brussels for more support from the EU."
The United Dairy Farmers price increase follows last week's 0.3p/litre price increase from Robert Wiseman Dairies, in response to the firmer cream market.
Meanwhile, dairy market managers in Brussels have taken further measures to help stabilise the dairy market.
First, they have extended intervention purchasing for butter and skimmed milk powder until the end of November. This is to allow buying-in to continue until EU farm ministers formally ratify a proposal to keep it open until next summer.
Second, they have extended the range of cheeses that may qualify for export refunds.
For a
Farmers Weekly view on recent dairy market developments, see
Phil Clarke's Business Blog