Whey powder sees a growing gap between supply and demand

Most protein in foods comes from whey, a byproduct of cheese production from milk. And that is where the problem arises when it comes to the supply of whey powder, for example: milk production in the Netherlands and surrounding countries is declining. Dutch dairy farmers produced for the month of December approximately 1,1 billion kilos, a decrease of 4% compared to the same month one year earlier. Last year, the total milk production in our country was 13,5 billion kilos. That is 2,6% less than the year before.

But as described, this trend is not only visible in the Netherlands, milk production is declining worldwide. In New Zealand, for example, 5% less milk was produced in the last month of last year, to about 2,6 billion kilos. That's the lowest level nine years time. And German dairy farmers are also lagging behind by about 3% compared to 2020. The declining number of dairy cows, poor quality of roughage, high prices for concentrates, energy and fertilizer and a lack of personnel are among the reasons for the declining milk supply.

At the same time, sales of protein products (excluding traditional protein shakes) rose sharply. This is evident from the sales figures of XXL Nutrition, one of the country's largest online stores in sports nutrition and supplements. The company saw a sales increase of almost 20% last year. "That growth has continued in recent months. And we expect that the growth cycle is not over yet," says marketing manager Jordy Holthuijsen.

Prices peak at record levels
The explosive increase in demand worldwide, in combination with the increasingly limited supply, has caused the prices of whey powder, among other things, to have gone through the roof. The ZuivelNL quotation for whey powder in week 5 amounts to €1.320 per tonne and the DCA quotation in the same week stands at €1.365 per tonne, a record. 2007 is therefore broken. It is also about 8% and 6% higher, respectively, than at the beginning of the year. One year ago, the ZuivelNL quotation was €910 per tonne and the DCA quotation was €930 per tonne.

Since no turnaround is expected in the market for the time being, a company like XXL Nutrition is forced to increase consumer prices. It will do so this year by no less than 15%. According to the company, it is even questionable whether it will stop there. By the way, it is not the only food company that is taking this step. Parties such as Ahold Delhaize, Unilever and Nestlé also have to increase consumer prices to compensate for cost increases.