Inside Milk
Butter price breaks, cheese and milk powder higher
While cheese and powder prices are slowly rising, the butter price is breaking with the recovery of recent weeks. Liquid dairy prices are also falling further.
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The dairy market feels subdued across the board. There is no hope for serious price increases, prompted by the corona crisis, which is still having an impact and is therefore suppressing positive starting points.
Butter price down
The butter price has reached its peak and is falling this week, prompted by ample stocks (including in intervention) and weak demand. The DCA quotation drops €55 to €3.405. This correction, the first since early August, was obvious. European butter is not competitive on the world market, partly due to the strengthening euro. Moreover, the trend in milk fat worldwide appears to be weak, as was also shown by the price drop on the Global Dairy Trade earlier this week.
The turnaround means that high cream prices are also dropping somewhat, as are the prices of spot milk and skimmed milk concentrate. Demand for liquid dairy on the spot market is weak, despite the fact that milk supply is almost at the low point of seasonal milk supply.
Tight cheese supplies
If we look at the cheese and milk powder market, there are slightly green figures. Cheese (Gouda and Edam) benefits from low stocks and excellent sales opportunities to retail. The milk powder prices are still rising, but there is no real stretch. Here too, European products are not competitive compared to New Zealand and Oceania.
Click here for explanation of the DCA quotations (liquid)
Click here for explanation of the DCA quotations (cheese)