Inside Milk
Labor Day disrupts dairy market
The recovery in liquid dairy prices was short-lived. The main reason for this is the cancellation of a processing day due to the Labor Day (1 May) celebration in many European countries.
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As a result, there is an imbalance between supply and demand. The almost seasonal peak of milk in Northwestern Europe obviously does not help. The pressure is reflected in the DCA spot milk quotation in the Netherlands, which drops €1,50 to €26 per 100 kilos. The quotation for the Northern German market even drops by €3 to €20, a depressingly low level.
Because spot prices are far below payout prices, milk processors are logically not eager to sell. Buying interest is also low, making it a thin market in terms of volume.
Erratic cream prices continue
The DCA room price drops by €200 to €2.850, continuing the erratic price movements of recent weeks. It is almost impossible to estimate what the cream price will do in the coming weeks. The price of skimmed milk concentrate does creep up to €1.200 at the top end, because it counts well compared to skimmed milk powder.
Little enthusiasm for storage arrangements
The prices of solid dairy products such as butter, milk powder and cheese continue to feel weak, although there will be no major corrections this week. Skimmed milk powder and whey powder even correct slightly upwards.
People shrug their shoulders about opening up the private storage scheme for milk powder, butter and cheese. After all, the damage has already been done in recent weeks and intervention stocks may block the subsequent price recovery, are arguments put forward by market parties. All in all, the undertone on the dairy market is still weak.
Click here for an overview of the DCA dairy quotations