WATERFORD Co-op - which is still considering a takeover offer from Avonmore Co-op - has cut the milk price it pays its suppliers by 1p a gallon for deliveries in April. Golden Vale has also cut its April milk price by 1p a gallon.
The cut brings the Waterford milk price to 4 1/2p below that offered by Avonmore which has held its milk price for April as have the two other main milk producers, Dairygold and Kerry.
The decision by Waterford to cut the April milk price has been strongly criticised by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA). IFA dairy committee chairman, Mr Liam Foley, said it was difficult to justify the decision, made on the same day the Irish Dairy Board increased its butter price by £59 a tonne, adding 1.2p a gallon to the IDB return to processors for skimmed milk powder and butter.
"In the context of Avonmore, Dairygold and Kerry having all committed to hold milk prices this month, and with the positive impact of improved green and commercial currency rates, the Waterford co-op's decision will be seen as a severe blow to its suppliers," Mr Foley said.
A spokesman for Waterford said the price cut was related purely to green pound movements. But a spokesman for the IFA said that, if this was the case, Waterford was reacting differently to the other major processors.
Although no progress seems to have been made in the merger between Avonmore and Waterford, some sources believe the 1p price cut may be a tactic by the Waterford board to make the takeover more palatable to Waterford Co-op shareholders.
