Lakeland Dairies has today (Friday, June 13) confirmed the price it will pay for milk supplied during May.

The board of the dairy processor has decided on a price for milk supplied in May with the base price remaining unchanged.

However, the board said that a 0.5c/L unconditional bonus will be paid on all litres supplied in May.

A price of 49.25c/L (3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein) will be paid for May milk in the Republic of Ireland.

Lakeland said that this price is inclusive of the 0.5c/L unconditional bonus as well as the 0.5c/L Sustainability Incentive Payment.

In Northern Ireland, a price of 40.3p/L will be paid for milk supplied in May which is also inclusive of the 0.5p/l unconditional bonus on all milk supplied in May as well as the Sustainability Incentive Payment.

"The relative stability in the market is due to the supply / demand dynamic remaining in balance.

"Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the markets and will endeavour to support our farmers as best we can," the processor said.

Last week, the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index recorded a second successive decrease in the index figure following its latest trading event.

The index decreased by 1.6% on June 3, for an average price of €3,794 per metric tonne (mt). The index figure is now at 1,311.

Of the 12 most recent GDT auction events back to December 17, the index has decreased six times, increased five times, and gone unchanged on one occasion.

166 bidders participated in today’s event, with 117 bidders emerging from 15 bidding rounds. The event lasted for two hours and 14 minutes, in which 16,307mt of product was sold.

In product sub-indices, the biggest movement was for butter milk powder (BMP), which decreased by 6.1% for an average price of €2,482/mt.

Another notable decrease was seen for cheddar, which fell back by 4.2%, reflecting an average price of €4,167/mt.