“I strongly welcome the announcement of an agreement on the establishment of two joint ventures by Lakeland and Fane Valley co-operatives,” said ICOS President Martin Keane.

Mr. Keane said that this announcement represents a strategic leadership initiative by an ICOS affiliate co-operative, in collaboration with Fane Valley Co-operative.  The effect of this decision would help both to consolidate and rationalise the processing and marketing of the milk pool on this island and combine cooperatives agri-business operations, all in the interest of their farmer members, he said.

The ICOS President noted that this development was in line with the ICOS policy of seeking greater collaboration between milk processors, whether through joint ventures, or fuller scale amalgamations to ensure that scale efficiencies were being achieved in processing and marketing, in the interests of farmers.

“This announcement is one of a series of leadership initiatives taken over the last year by our co-operative boards in the pursuit of amalgamations, joint ventures and closer collaboration, in the long term interests of farmer members and of consumers”, he concluded.

ICOS represents co-operatives and organisations– including the dairy processing co-operatives and livestock marts – whose associated businesses have a combined turnover in the region of 14 billion euro, with some 150,000 individual members, employing 12,000 people, and a further 24,000 people overseas.

Ends

For further information contact; Seamus O’Donohoe, CEO , ICOS +353 87 2867349; seamus.odonohoe@icos.ie

Media Information:  Tim Kinsella, MKC Communications, +353 86 813 7512 tim@mkc.ie