Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association described Nestlé’s infant formula plant in Limerick as ‘huge economic asset’ that must be protected.
The government must do everything in its power to ensure the infant formula manufacturing plant in Askeaton, Co Limerick, is not shut down within the next two years, the head of an Irish dairy farmer organisation has said.
On Wednesday, Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, announced it will close its Wyeth Nutrition infant formula manufacturing plant in Askeaton with the potential loss of almost 550 jobs. In a statement, the company said it has been unable to find a buyer for the facility and blamed the decision to close the plant on the sharp reduction in demand for infant formula globally, particularly from the Chinese market where the birth rate has halved.
The Askeaton infant formula facility has capacity to produce around 40,000 tons of infant formula every year, making it one of the largest dairy manufacturing plants in the country.
Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), a representative group for dairy farmers, said the Wyeth Nutrition baby formula plant provides a valuable source of export earnings for the domestic dairy industry in Ireland.
“ICMSA is in a somewhat unique position to appreciate the gravity of this threat. We are based in Limerick and know the reliance of so many jobs in the west of the county on the operation in Askeaton and downstream in the communities around it. So, we have the first-hand knowledge of what this could mean in terms of direct economic and social impact,” McCormack said.
“The ICMSA is also the state’s specialist dairy farmer organisation, and here the position is no less concerning. The degree of complacency that seems to inform Irish government policy on dairy – which is the jewel in the crown of the Irish farming industry – is both astonishing and dangerous. Farming and food production is the biggest and most successful indigenous economic activity in Ireland and milk production is the flagship activity within that.
“This announcement by Nestlé is a very clear signal that the market is changing and that we will have to change with it if we are to maintain our pivotal role. Instead of approaching it in that spirit – where we try and progress and move to understand how we can develop new products and markets – we have never-ending waves of restrictions and a bluntly anti-dairy state policy,” he added.
McCormack said the decision by Nestlé to close the Wyeth baby formula plant was akin to a “blinking light on the Irish economic dashboard” and warned the state must take urgent action to make sure the facility is saved.
“The Wyeth plant is a huge economic asset and our government should be doing everything possible to ensure that the proposed closure does not go ahead and maintain a valuable source of export earnings” McCormack said.
Nestlé first acquired the Askeaton plant in 2012 as part of a $12 billion deal to buy Pfizer’s specialised nutrition arm. The vast majority of infant formula made at the facility is packaged under Nestlé’s Illuma brand, which is its premium brand and commands very significant retail prices in key markets like China.
However, the Chinese government has been trying to rebuild its domestic dairy industry over the last decade following a series of health scares, and reduce its reliance on imported infant formula from European countries like Ireland and France. At the same time, the birth rate has slowed in China with the number of babies born last year falling to 9m – almost half what it was back in 2016.
