asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food in view of a green pound devaluation of 5.8 per cent and a considerable reduction in the delay period in payments for dairy products in intervention, the price increase in the price of a gallon of milk he expects to be obtained by Irish dairy farmers this year; and the date from which he anticipates the increase will apply.
Written Answers. - Milk Price Increase.
58.
The extent of the devaluation of our green rate and its impact on milk prices will depend on the outcome of the agricultural price negotiations which have not yet been concluded.
When the revised rules governing intervention were agreed by the Council of Ministers in March the Commission indicated that once butter intervention is re-introduced following a suspension the payment period would be reduced to 90 days. Such a reduction and a reduction to 120 days in the case of skimmed milk powder would represent approximately 4.5p in the intervention value of a gallon of milk. At this stage it is not possible to say when the payment period will be reduced.