Coronavirus is slowly infecting the dairy market

This is especially noticeable in milk powders and fat products. Where at the beginning of the week trading was still going well, because halfway through the week things suddenly turned into a mess. An example is a product such as cream, where the price fell sharply in a short time. The DCA quotations also appear for products such as butter and skimmed milk powder DCA Markets under pressure. The valorization of cheese is developing favorably compared to butter and milk powders.

Buyers wait and see
It is mainly the uncertainty among buyers about the effects of the coronavirus on demand that plays a role during this period. As a result, they wait a while and place fewer orders for the medium and long term. Also in the knowledge that they can purchase these products at a later time, because the supply is not under any pressure. Especially now that the European milk supply will increase seasonally again this and the following months.

The DCA quotation for skimmed milk powder drops slightly, by €3 to €2.583 per tonne ex-factory. Skimmed Milk Concentrate is also lower: by €110 to €2.140 per tonne of dry matter. Whole milk powder is going against the market a bit this week, as the quotation there has risen by €6 to €3.060 per tonne. This means that European whole milk powder is highly priced on the world market. The DCA quotation for whey powder increases by €15 to €872 per tonne, although according to the trade, an incentive is needed to get the market moving a bit more. 

Sufficient stock
Butter and cream are significantly lower in price this week than last week. DCA Butter quotes €3.494 per ton ex factory, €89 less than the week before. Cream will drop in price by €240, with the DCA quotation coming to €3.830 per tonne ex-factory. The supply of cream is more than sufficient during this period, while demand is declining. Buyers are waiting and butter producers also have sufficient product in stock.

Foliekaas has managed to hold its own in the current market sentiment by maintaining the current relatively high prices. In the short term, the supply is not large, so producers try to keep retail prices high. The DCA foil cheese quotation Edam yields €26 and amounts to €3.079 per tonne. Gouda sells for €3.128 per tonne, a decrease of €17.

German spot milk yields
The DCA spot quotations for raw milk are holding up well in a thin market in the Netherlands. Although the Dutch milk supply is increasing, an average of €34,50 per 100 kilos is paid on a thin spot market at 4,4% fat. The DCA quotations for Northern and Southern Germany are losing ground this week. These are falling, partly due to cheap offers from France on the competitive markets, by €3 and €2,50 respectively to €31 and €33,50 per 100 kg at 4% fat.

DCA Quotes

View the latest cheese quotations here
View the latest liquid dairy quotes here 
View the latest powder quotations here
View the butter quotations here