Analysis Milk
Powders and Dutch milk more expensive on the market
In a calm dairy market, especially Dutch spot milk and also milk and whey powders became more expensive this week, while there was some pressure on the prices of mozzarella and Gouda and Edam foil cheese for cheeses. Cream also dropped slightly in price.
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The slightly higher price for Dutch raw milk seems like a more exciting event than it is. Prices for raw milk remain high in the Netherlands, Germany and France, but the madness is a bit out of the market and only small volumes are still traded. Free product is and remains scarce. Traders complain that almost everything is fixed until March/April.
Skimmed milk concentrate became slightly more expensive and moved slightly in line with milk powder prices, although skimmed milk concentrate is certainly not only purchased by the powder makers. It can be used for almost anything, and with current energy prices it is often more attractive for dairy producers to sell concentrate directly than to powder it themselves.
The cream price was also under some pressure this week, albeit less strongly than last week. The butter and cream markings came a little closer together. that is good news for those who buy cream at free prices, but bad news for those who buy cream at a fixed range compared to the butter quotation. ZuivelNL's butter listing certainly hurt them this week, but there have been other times too.
The yield of the milk powder and cream mix seemed to be considerably higher in recent months than that of the cheese and whey mix. But when making this sum, the sharply increased energy costs, especially for the powder makers, may not have been fully taken into account. In any case, the well-profitable milk powder production seemed to keep the supply to the cheese bin within limits.
Slightly lower cheese price for the first time
Taking this into account, it seems a bit surprising that prices for Gouda and Edam foil cheeses and also for mozzarella are now coming under some pressure; for the first time in months. Time will tell whether this is a short-term phenomenon or not. Stocks of product are reportedly still low. Cheddar prices are still rising.
The whey price is also continuing to rise unperturbed, to a height that has not been seen for years. The DCA quotation for whey powder for food is €1350 per tonne, a record. But thickened whey is also at a particularly high price level. This product changes hands for around €1100 per tonne of dry matter.