Irish dairy industry plans to expand

The Irish minister for agriculture, fisheries and food, Brendan Smith, has announced the establishment of the Dairy Expansion Activation Group as recommended in the Food Harvest 2020 report. Earlier in 2010, the Irish government launched a policy document called Food Harvest 2020 in which it set out a goal of doubling milk output over the next 10 years.
The group, to be chaired by Dr Sean Brady, will be a small action-driven one comprising farmers, processors and Teagasc. It will address actions to be taken to realise the targets for dairy expansion laid down in the 2020 report, the government says.
“Food Harvest 2020 is an industry-led report that establishes ambitious targets for the expansion and development of the dairy sector,” Smith notes. “The constraints on the development of the sector are being phased out with the abolition of quotas, and all of the stakeholders need to drive on and take the strategic decisions necessary to exploit the comparative advantage that we in Ireland have in milk production.
“Food business operators, from farm level to processors, need to critically examine their business models and take rational commercial decisions based on the realities of the marketplace. Dr Brady has the confidence of the sector and did a tremendous job in chairing the Food Harvest Group. I’m confident that he can be equally successful in this implementation phase and that his group will address the critical issues on the road to the expanded output target.”
Against the background of the implementation of the Food Harvest Report, the minister announced the ninth Milk Quota Trading Scheme, which will be the first of two Trading Schemes to allocate quota in respect of the 2011/2012 milk quota year.
The introduction of a national component in each phase of the scheme will involve a new mechanism to allow sellers who have been successful in selling some but not all of their quota on the market exchange to dispose of their remaining quota through a national pool.