The Kerry Group announced it has dropped the price of milk by 56c per liter in the past month, bringing the most current price to 58.84c per liter.

Earlier, Ireland’s Lakeland Dairies had also announced a reduction in milk prices to 52.85c per liter.

Milk in Northern Ireland has recently fallen to 42.5c per liter.

Industry observers reported the lessening of demand worldwide for milk last December, as global milk supplies continued to grow.

“High rates of inflation are affecting overall market sentiment. Demand has reduced, buyers have held back, exports have slowed and prices have eased considerably,” according to an industry spokesman, as quoted by the Irish Examiner.

Irish Farmers’ Association dairy chair Stephen Arthur, commenting on the fall in prices, said, “The processors were slow to pass on returns when the market was rising, but have no problem telling farmers that they will drop prices immediately now that the market is softening,” as reported by the Irish Examiner.