Carberry Milk Products the Ballineen dairy processor is something of an oddity, even by the standards of the Irish dairy industry. It is very profitable, has shown an excellent ability to diversify out a core cheddar cheese business and is also owned by four coops in West Cork who have themselves shown a great reluctance to merge despite the positive experience they share through their joint ownership of Carbery.

Carbery was bought by the four co-ops Bandon, Barryore, Drinagh and Lisavaird from Express Dairies five years ago for £21 million. With profits last year of almost £5 million on sales of £91 million, Carbery enjoys robust margins of over 5 per cent and the company would certainty be now worth around £70 million, based on the sort of multiples that publicly-quoted dairy companies are trading at.

The four co-ops themselves went close to a four-way marriage a few years ago, but got nervous at the altar. Since then, the co-ops, whose catchment area extends from Cork Harbour to the tip of the Beara peninsula, have steadfastly stayed independent of each other, even though they sell all their milk to Carbery to make cheddar, mozzarrella, the new "Dubliner" cheese, whey protein and. . .alcohol. Did you know that the dairy cattle of West Cork are the biggest producers of alcohol in the country?

The Avonmore Waterford deal has shown the benefits of rationalisation in the industry. The logic behind a merger of four small co-ops who produce only 70 million gallons of milk a year is compelling. Sadly, a merger seems as far away as ever.