UDC representative Dean McKenna provided a $6.05kg/MS opening price to The Weekly Times and said it included a 25 cents a kilogram of milk solids “sign-on bonus”.
The Weekly Times asked what the sign-on bonus involved — such as signing on for one year or three years — but Mr McKenna would not provide any details.
“I will not go into that,” he said. “We don’t live through the media.”
The South Australian-based processor collects milk for its Penola plant in South Australia and into southwest Victoria.
The business is collecting milk for its second season of processing.
UDC is a joint venture between Warrnambool’s the Midfield Group, most known for its meat processing, and Louis Dreyfus Company Dairy Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Company Asia.
Most processors have announced opening prices in the past week.
Australia’s largest processor Saputo opened at $5.75/kgMS last Tuesday, Fonterra followed on Thursday at $5.85/kgMS and then Bega Cheese on Monday at $5.85/kgMS — plus sign-on bonuses of 25c/kgMS or 50c/kgMS depending on if the supplier chose to sign for one or three years.
Australian Consolidated Milk lifted its opening on Monday from $5.90/kgMS to $6/kgMS and added money to its spring price. Bulla Dairy Foods had increased its opening by 20c/kgMS earlier in the month.
The new supply season begins on Sunday.
By: SIMONE SMITH
Source: The Weekly Times
Link: https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/dairy/farmgate-milk-price-union-dairy-company-tightlipped-about-bonus/news-story/b798087b2b79d11fe8b64bfecc3f7256