The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, announced the aggregate results of the 14th Milk Quota Trading Scheme. This is the second of two schemes that will allocate quota in respect of the 2013/2014 milk quota year.

A total of 27.2 million litres of milk quota was offered for sale under the scheme, with 25.2 million litres successfully traded. Of this total, 18.4 million litres was sold on the exchange at prices ranging from 5 to 29 cent per litre. The remaining 6.8 million litres was sold through the priority pool at the maximum price of 5 cent per litre.

Commenting on the outcome, the Minister said “Based on the significant volumes that continue to be traded successfully, it is evident that the Milk Quota Trading Scheme is still regarded by farmers as a valuable mechanism for those wishing to purchase or dispose of milk quota. We see that almost 93% of the volume offered for sale was traded – however this satisfied less than 25% of the volume sought.

The Minister also said that it was evident that sentiment in the dairy sector continues to remain extremely positive and that the industry, both at processing and farm level was gearing up for a significant expansion in production after 2015, “The abolition of quotas in 2015 represents a tremendous opportunity for the Irish dairy sector and the Irish economy generally. I have great confidence in the ability of all the players in this industry to work together to build on the strong sustainability credentials of Irish farming to develop a bigger and brighter future for the sector”.

Concluding, the Minister thanked the Co-ops once again for their cooperation in the implementation of the Trading Scheme.