Boards need to step up

THE ICMSA has insisted that Co-op boards need to assert their authority and ensure that no decisions relating to milk-price reporting to farmers should be taken by an external body where co-ops are represented by management and not farm-board members.

ICMSA Dairy Committee chairperson Gerald Quain was speaking after Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) announced that milk processors would be adding a new metric on milk price to their monthly statements.

“We bluntly question the idea of an industry body making decisions for all milk processors in relation to price reporting for individual milk suppliers,” said Mr Quain. “How a Co-op reports its price to the Co-op suppliers is properly a matter for the board of that Co-op.

“We also think, bluntly, that milk price announcements and changes should – and will – continue to be based on the 3.3 per cent, 3.6 per cent metric, and that will apply regardless of other metrics being introduced.”

Mr Quain said that if milk processors are serious about price transparency, then they should publish data relating to market returns on their product mix.

He sees the non-publication of this data on the grounds that it is commercially sensitive as no “excuse”. He added that, “If Co-ops are going to publish data on a European solids standard alongside the Irish standard metric of 3.3 and 3.6 solids, then they should also, on a monthly basis, publish where their milk price is relative to the LTO EU average, and where in the EU league their milk price stands.

“This would be real transparency and they could explain why the Irish price is consistently near the bottom of the league.”