IFA warns of milk shortages on supermarket shelves
Farmers' association says there is a real risk of milk shortages because farmers are not paid enough to milk cows during the winter
Print31 March 2017
At the launch of the IFA Milk Wise 2025 strategy this week, IFA president Joe Healy warned milk produced over the winter months will soon fail to meet demand. There is a real risk of shortages for consumers because farmers aren’t being paid enough to milk cows during the winter, he said.
According to Healy, the pressures on supplies could be exacerbated by the Brexit process, so the organisation needs a strong strategy to keep local milk on supermarket shelves.
“26% of milk on supermarket shelves comes from Northern Ireland,” Healy said. “This IFA strategy identifies the challenges and provides solutions which can secure locally-produced, high-quality fresh milk year round, while nurturing this valuable €530m market.”
“With our strong export growth no longer hampered by milk quotas,” Healy said, “the amount of supermarket milk produced over the winter has dropped. Cover after consumption in the winter months has fallen from 11% in 2013 to 5% in 2014.”
Healy stated that he would present the Milk Wise 2025 document to the Minister for Agriculture and urge him to take the necessary steps to safeguard the industry from such shortages and losses.
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