Gloomy atmosphere in LTO milk price comparison

The average advance milk price for April 2020 has decreased by €0,71 compared to last month, which amounts to €32,47 per 100 kilos of milk. This means that the price for April this year is €0,85 (2,5%) lower than in the same month last year. Unfortunately, the prospects for the coming months do not seem very promising.

Increasingly below €30
Last month it became clear that Irish milk prices would fall below €30 per 100 liters of milk. The price of Glanbia Ingredients in particular suffered heavily. The price remained above €30, but fell sharply by just under €5. The price will also drop further this month and will amount to €28,61. This makes Glanbia bottom in the LTO milk price comparison.

In addition to Glanbia, Saputo, Dairygold and Milcobel also trade below €30 per 100 liters at €29,11, €28,81 and again €28,81 respectively. Both Saputo and Dairygold are dropping the price considerably. Saputo's milk price drops by €1,80 due to a higher seasonal levy and Dairygold even reduces by €2,00 due to a price reduction and the elimination of a seasonal surcharge. Saputo indicates that it will not reduce further until June, Dairygold and Milcobel express no expectations.

Major change or unchanged
There are few nuanced changes, if any. For example, Savencia drops the price by €1,40 to €33,19, Sodiaal drops by €1,10 to €33,87 and FrieslandCampina deducts €1,20 from the price, bringing it to €33,91 per 100 kilos of milk. The milk price of the Italian Granarolo remains at the top at €38,35, but this has also fallen by €1,00 compared to last month.

The other prices decrease less or remain the same. The milk processors who express an expectation generally come with little positive prospects. The price of FrieslandCampina will continue to drop until June. Arla also sees the price falling in May, but indicates that it will keep it the same in June. Although DMK will leave the April price unchanged, the processor will still implement a decrease of €1,60 in May. The other processors reveal little about the future.

American milk price is in free fall
Although the picture of European milk prices is already gloomy, the American milk price is decisive. The price drops sharply by almost €7,00 (-20%) to €29,75. This brings the price back to square one. In 2019, after many bad years, the price finally managed to rise to a reasonable level, which has now been wiped out in one go.

The New Zealand Fonterra also drops the price to €31,06. The milk price forecast for the 2019/20 milk season is very positive. In the previous 5 years, Fonterra's milk price was considerably lower. The Swiss Emmi remains high at €50,45, despite a decline of €0,60 and the Spanish CAPSA FOOD keeps the price unchanged at €31,27.