A-ware also gives bouncer to Belgian milk price

The legal price that A-ware pays for December is €42,40 per 100 liters. At real levels and an annual volume of 1,3 million kilos, this amounts to a price of €45,20 per 100 liters, the company indicates.

The Belgian market leader Milcobel is not expected to publish a milk price for December until a few weeks from now. Milcobel set a standard price of €37,50 per 100 liters in November. The second batch of Laiterie des Ardennes still has to determine a milk price for November. In October, this cooperative paid a standard price of €36,50 per 100 liters.

Both LDA and A-ware pay a slightly higher milk price than Milcobel from month to month, with LDA following closely behind A-ware in terms of payment. The Walloon cooperative is also expected to pay a supplementary payment, something Milcobel may also do.

The three processors, together with smaller players such as Farmel and Inex, are involved in a battle for milk in Belgium. After a number of years of poor prices, a large group of Milcobel members packed up and opted for LDA and A-ware in particular. LDA has grown considerably in recent years and last month also opened a new mozzarella factory with a capacity of 32.000 tons in Badour. At the end of last year, A-ware bought the powder factory of Frieslandcampina in Aalter, a company with a capacity of approximately 40.000 tons.

A large part of the extra milk needed for these factories is sourced from Milcobel, but also from FrieslandCampina and other parties in Belgium. To secure milk supply, established parties must, according to trade sources, enter the spot market to purchase replacement milk in France, for example.