The Ulster Farmers' Union has requested an urgent meeting with dairy processors to address farmers receiving a poor return for their milk, despite rising dairy commodity prices.
The union said there had been a substantial increase across all products in the last six months, but dairy farmers were yet to benefit from the booming market.
It has asked for a meeting with Northern Ireland dairy processors, as farmers were 'extremely frustrated and angry' with the situation.
Butter and skimmed milk powder (quoted by DDB/ZuivelNL) have increased by 57% and 48% respectively, and mozzarella (Trigona) by 46%.
Yet, the Northern Irish base milk price has only risen by 12 percent in the last six months.
It comes as farmers across the country witness increasing pressure due to rising feed, fuel and fertiliser prices.
UFU dairy chair Mervyn Gordon said: “The UFU milk price indictor has shown that dairy markets are continuously improving, offering significantly better returns than what processors are paying their farmers.
"They’re the primary producers but have yet to see the positive impact of rising commodity prices in the market which is completely unjust after such a long period of ongoing increases.”
Mr Gordon said farmers had seen the data first-hand, showing the widening gap between market returns and the farmgate price they’re receiving from processors.
"We’ve been inundated by calls from members who are supplying various processors about the unfair price they’re getting for their milk," he added.
"They want an explanation as to why the gap between the two is widening so substantially, as well as the opportunity to present a strong case for a more reflective milk price supported by the statistics."
Dairy processors have said that their pricing is being impacted by rising processing costs.
According to AHDB, the rise in energy costs and labour has increased the processing costs by 0.48ppl.
Going by these figures, Mr Gordon explained that NI dairy producers were "yet again being sold short".
"They’re taking the hit to make up for the extra expense processing companies have to meet," he added.
"It will not be tolerated, especially when farm businesses are already under so much financial pressure.”
