There has been renewed hope in the industry over the last few weeks, with a number of industry commentators announcing the bottom of the trough has been reached.
NFU Cymru Dairy Board Chairman, Aled Jones, says with the outlook in the dairy sector looking a little brighter, it is critical that dairy farmers see money going back to the farm gate quickly and not stuck in the supply chain.
Following a global supply and demand imbalance that sent dairy commodity prices - and the price farmers are paid for their milk – plummeting, there are now signs that the bottom of the trough has been reached.
Aled Jones said: "It’s been the longest and deepest crisis anyone in the dairy sector can remember and clearly current farmgate prices are not sustainable.
"It’s still early days but from what we’re seeing on the futures markets, it’s looking like things are on the cusp of improving.
"Supply is pulling back across the world and there are reports that dairy consumption will be bigger than the growth in production this year.
"On farm we’ve seen price increases, a few price holds and although no overall change on the last Global Dairy Trade auction, this follows two positive auctions.
"Some traders are increasingly concerned where they will source products for the end of the year so the right signs are there.
"However, many farmers are receiving an extremely low price for their milk, so despite any small increases, prices will still be extremely low and how quickly we get back to a sustainable level no-one knows.
"There is still a long way to go but the key message has to be for processors to pass price increases back to farmers as soon as they materialise."
