News
31.07.2015
Dairy farmers in warning over milk price slump
Northern Ireland
Dairy farmers have warned some of them may go out of business if the milk slump continues and they don't get a better price for their product.
The price paid to farmers is around 19p a litre at the moment, well below the cost of production and there is no sign of an improvement.
On average, farmers need around 27p a litre to break even.
There are more than 2,500 dairy farms in Northern Ireland.
Now some say they may go out of business if prices don't improve.
The Stormont agriculture committee is being recalled on Thursday to discuss the crisis, and farmers are planning a protest.
It follows an impromptu meeting that was expected to draw a small number of dairy farmers, but more than 50 of them turned up.
On average, farmers need around 27p a litre to break even
Johnny Matthews, a dairy farmer who organised the meeting, said there was an 11p a litre shortfall between what it was costing to produce and what he was currently being paid for his milk. He said many farmers were under big pressure.
"It doesn't add up and there's no way we can keep going," he added.
He said he just wanted a "fair price" for his milk.
In recent years, smaller operations have moved out of milk and farms have had to become bigger to remain competitive.
Dairy farmers are under price pressure because of a range of issues, including decreased demand from a stuttering Chinese economy and a Russian ban on EU food imports in retaliation for EU sanctions over Ukraine.
In addition the ending of EU milk quotas in April and a general increase in global production pushed up supply.
