Price wars: Supermarkets cut cost of butter amid concern from farmers

Tomas Doherty

Ireland's leading supermarket chains are cutting the cost of own brand butter.

Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and SuperValu will reduce their prices from Thursday.

Tesco’s 454g (1lb) butter will now be priced at €2.99, down 40c from €3.39.

SuperValu announced its own brand butter would be reduced by 40c from €3.39 to €2.99.

Aldi will also be reducing its butter prices, with 454g cut to €2.99, and the 227g (half pound) to €1.85.

It comes just days after the price of milk was cut at supermarkets.

The move was concerning for farmers, who were “working below the cost of production,” Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) said.

“We understand the price of milk for farmers has fallen and it somewhere in the region of 50c a litre at the moment. That’s bringing its own pressures on the system. If you look at it since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you will see massive price inflation on the cost of production.

“Looking at the price across the EU, we’re one of the highest costs in production at the moment,” he said, adding: “Now to see the price of produce falling is very worrying”.

It was leading to a “price war” with retailers, Mr Cullinan said. “We’re very concerned about the price that farmers are receiving for dairy produce at the moment”.

Official figures show the national average price of butter rose to a peak of €3.85 in March this year. According to the Central Statistics Office, fresh whole milk and butter have risen in cost by 24.3 per cent and 21 per cent respectively over the past year.

For more on the latest price rises in Ireland, check out the breakingnews.ie data tracker