THERE WILL be an increase of 0.5 euro cents to Arla's on-account price for conventional and organic milk from April 1, taking its standard manufacturing litre to 39.72 ppl.

The increase would have pushed Arla even closer to the 40ppl mark had it not been for the negative impact of a 0.12 pence per litre quarterly currency adjustment. However, for Arla's organic producers, 40ppl has long been in the rear view mirror, as this latest across the board increase takes them to 47.17ppl.

Read more: Arla Foods lifts milk price by 1.8 pence per litre for March

Arla Foods amba board director, and farmer owner, Arthur Fearnall, said: “While commodity prices continued improving in February, and an increase in the farmgate milk price is welcome, we cannot get away from that fact that the cost of producing milk is continuing to increase like never before.

"The pressures on farm are ever mounting as our farmers owners try to balance continued significant inflationary costs, with ensuring and investing in industry leading standards in animal welfare and sustainability to meet consumer demand. These pressures are being felt everywhere and while a positive outlook is welcome, there are still some unknown impacts of the war in the Ukraine.”