ŽŪK “Pienas LT” – envisages expansion and invites new members to join

Having finished last year profitably, ŽŪK “Pienas LT” is implementing investment projects to increase production productivity and is preparing for business development. In order to properly prepare for the growth of milk processing and maintain the competitiveness of the cooperative, milk producers are invited to sign preliminary contracts for joining the “Pienas LT” cooperative.

“The excellent results of our cooperative and the recently increased desire of milk producers to become part of the cooperative show that the decision to combine milk production and processing into a jointly managed business is paying off. Without waiting for anything, we announce good news to the milk producers of all Lithuania – the gates of the cooperative will soon be opened again for new members”, says Tomas Raudonius, chairman of the board of ŽŪK “Pienas LT”.

From here m. March. after the factory is filled to more than 90 percent. with the milk supplied by members belonging to the cooperative, the admission of new members was temporarily suspended. At the Ordinary General Meeting of members held in April, the majority of votes approved the investment projects and the financing program, which will allow the development of the cooperative to be implemented in different stages over several years.

Publicly available data show that the price paid by ŽŪK “Pienas LT” for milk has been 1-2 ct/kg higher than the market average for almost two years, including the crisis period (see schedules in appendix No. 1 and No. 2). In addition, during the year 2021, the cooperative earned a net profit of 1.2 cents per kilogram of base milk served to the member, and in 2022, 4 cents/BP kg, a part of which was planned to be paid out to members as dividends and allocated to the accumulation of surplus and new investments.

According to T. Raudoniaus, the behavior of the cooperative is always focused on the economic benefit of the members, and the distribution of the earned profit is in the hands of the members themselves. In addition, in the face of the crisis, with the help of the cooperative’s internal resources, solutions are being sought to help farms. “Since January, by adjusting milk purchase prices, we have reduced the share of profit by more than 1 million. Eur. By decision of the members, it was also decided to accumulate a reserve, which will allow to balance the income received in difficult times and in the future”, says T. Raudonius.

According to Mindaugas Čejskas, head of the Žaliava branch of “Pienas LT”, the cooperative is also attractive due to the principle of equality, which is guided by the price paid for milk. The difference between the milk price paid to large and smaller farms is only made up of collection costs. Also, in the pricing of the cooperative, extras are provided for the purchase price of milk, when milk is collected every second/third day (see table no. 3) and an additional 0.5 ct for milk quality.

Average amount of raw natural milk sold during the reference period, kg per day	Milk purchase price with 2 d. extra, €/kg (without VAT)	Milk purchase price with 3 d. extra, €/kg (without VAT)
1-100	0,2917	0,3017
101-200	0,2917	0,3017
201-300	0,2917	0,3017
301-500	0,2999	0,3069
501-1000	0,3089	0,3129
1001-2000	0,3145	0,3170
2001-4000	0,3172	0,3187
4001-10000	0,3186	0,3186
10001-20000	0,3194	0,3194
20001 and more	0,3200	0,3200

Table no. 3

“For us and our farms, every cent that we save through logistics costs, joint purchases and services provided to farms is important,” says M. Čejuskas. – Therefore, we invite milk producers to take advantage of this opportunity and make an investment business decision that creates economic benefits”.

When accepting new members to the “Pienas LT” cooperative in stages, the right of priority will be given taking into account the date of signing the preliminary contract, the efficiency of milk collection and the compatibility of the farm’s cooperative business principles. “We believe that the more we are, the stronger we are when we work for ourselves,” says T. Raudonius, urging him to consider joining the cooperative.

Anyone who wants to join the activities of the cooperative is invited to contact Mindaugas Čejskas, head of the Zhaliava branch, Tel. +370 657 93840 or e-mail by mail: [email protected]