Retailer Milk Price Wars: Guess Who Pays the Bill?

According to the ICMSA, these cuts will disproportionately affect dairy farmers' margins, leaving other segments of the supply chain untouched and intensifying the structural imbalance within dairy economics.

Denis Drennan, the ICMSA president, described this imbalance, noting that while market prices dictate profit margins for every part of the supply chain, only farmers bear the brunt when prices decline. Despite a consistent cost in producing milk, farmer incomes have been dropping, exacerbated by market volatility.

As SuperValu decreased the price of 2L own-brand milk to €2.35, farmers face acute income volatility. Drennan highlights the resulting economic instability as a major deterrent for young farmers entering the field, criticizing the government's failure to address this in the recent Budget 2026.

The ICMSA is calling for the Agri-Food Regulator to acquire the authority needed to increase transparency within the supply chain and publicly disclose profit distributions. Drennan contrasts the transparency of farmers' margins with the ambiguous margins retained by retailers. The ICMSA argues this imbalance must be corrected to protect farmers from unsustainable economic pressure.

ICMSA's stark warning indicates that without needed protections, farmers will struggle to sustain further income decreases. The association demands urgent structural changes to rectify this issue for the dairy industry.