IAN POTTER ASSOCIATES 28th May 2010
Specialist Agricultural Quota & Entitlement Brokers
Telephone 01335 324594 Fax 01335 324584
Website www.ipaquotas.co.uk Email Issue No. 578
Today / Last Week / Change / 4 Weeks Ago / 1 Year agoClean / 0.30ppl / 0.30ppl / = / 0.35ppl / 0.25ppl
AMPE / 30.50 / +2.50 / 28.00ppl / 19.50ppl
MCVE / 30.40 / +1.39 / 29.01ppl / 24.73ppl
Producers in E & W / 11,318 / -469 in 12 months / 11,366 / 11,787
£ : $ / 1.46 / 1.44 / +0.02 / 1.52 / 1.59
£ : € / 1.18 / 1.15 / +0.03 / 1.15 / 1.14
Crude Oil / $75 / $71 / -$4 / $86 / $62
Wheat / £113 / £110 / +£3 / £109 / £122
Soya meal / £272 / £281 / -£9 / £270 / £320
0.5ppl milk price increase for Glanbia Cheese Anglesey suppliers – from June 1st
This is the second consecutive monthly increase from the company taking their standard litre price to 23.28ppl.
1ppl milk price increase for Saputo suppliers – this will be 0.5ppl backdated to May and 0.5ppl for 1st June.
£3.3 million interest payment to Milk Link member
As a warm up to the release of Milk Link’s 31st March 2010 year end results, expected on 9th June, the co-op has announced this year’s annual member interest payment on qualifying loans will be £3.3m a reduction of £800,000 on the £4.1m paid in the previous year.
The payout represents an 8.1% return on member loan balances (10.8% return 2009) and will equate to a payment of around £2,000 or 0.35ppl (0.4ppl 2009) for the average Milk Link producer.
The amount invested by members has increased during the past 12 months from £38million to almost £41 million.
£162m slashed off DEFRA’s 2010/11 budget
As expected DEFRA’s budget for the current financial year has been cut as part of the Government’s £6.2 billion cost cutting exercise. The result is DEFRA will have to make £162m cost savings out of its £3 billion annual budget.
Is it time for Rottweilers to replace the Welsh and English Corgis?
Last week’s article headed “How long will farmers sit back and watch others pocket the market gains” prompted a flurry of interesting responses.
One suggested that so-called farmer representatives are “all turkeys with fat salaries not prepared to risk their positions” who are quick to release statements in support of downward movements but there is now a deafening silence when comments demanding upward movements are necessary.
The effectiveness of DCD and AFMP were the subject of several comments as were the NFU Dairy Board with one concluding “I ask myself: do we need to get Handley back!”
Then followed a robust defence from DCD who pointed out that according to milkprices.com DCD’s “non-aligned liquid price actually eclipsed the equivalent Arla and Wiseman prices during last milk year – albeit only just.” So that means DCD must be doing a good job! (they said.)
Perhaps, indeed, it is time for someone like David Handley to be recruited again to the front line. If not perhaps The European Milk Board or Dairy Farmers of Scotland should be persuaded to get stuck in.
It’s time for serious questions on Middle Ground discounting
It’s time for someone to dig deep into the murky world of the Middle Ground market, and to ask why margins are being not just given away but thrown away so recklessly.
Not only are there alarming issues concerning one middle ground milk seller and its ability to pay all its direct supplying farmers on time, but there are long terms deals at totally unsustainable prices, which are a key factor in preventing overdue ex-farm gate milk price rises.
Local shops and garages in The Midlands are known to be selling premium Dairy Crest and Wiseman branded milk at 99p for 6 pints, as a price war continues between two rival BMB (Bottled Milk Buyers) dairies, with one clearly trying to destroy the other, and the latter forced to defend its market. We estimate the price crashing BMB could be selling the six pints to the shops for around 80p. Do the sums!
Why do Dairy Crest and Wiseman sit back and allow this to happen to their brands? Questions need answering, and quickly, as this market is probably the major reason DC and Wiseman didn’t put the price up.
It’s not very long ago that DFB inherited a cripplingly low priced contract to supply Medina, which at least had an expiry date but some of these retail outlets have contracts offering them milk for the same current low price “fixed forever”.
There is a never ending war in the middle ground but when you can see branded milk at such low prices it is time the owners of these brands made a stand. If the price war continues there will be no liquid price rises, and a near certainty that one or more of those involved in middle ground selling will go to the wall and everyone will catch a cold.
England v Hungary – Wednesday 11th August 2010 at Wembley
Up to 5 tickets available in any area of ground at £5.00 per ticket discount. Anyone interested in 2 or more tickets email Ian on