UFU Dairy Policy Committee Chair Andrew Addison said; “The latest United Dairy Farmers Auction recorded a price of 29.02 pence per litre based on a volume of 43 million litres. This is a fall of 0.52p per litre or 1.79 per cent, which is the biggest drop since April 2011, however since April we have had a period of stable prices."

“With commodity prices continuing to demand a high return, the latest auction price when considered on a year-on-year basis is 2.26p per litre or 8.44 per cent higher than November 2010. However, what we are seeing is the Euro Zone crisis beginning to have an impact upon the Northern Ireland Dairy sector and in particular uncertainty over the future value of the Euro."

"Only three months ago, we saw €1 was the equivalent of £0.90, however, now it is closer to £0.85 and this translates into a small drop in our own milk price.

“As long as commodity markets and demand remain strong and the situation in Europe does not deteriorate further, the UFU will be expecting to see prices remain relatively stable.”