Dairy market continues to look for new solid ground

The prices of both skimmed milk powder and whey powder fell slightly this week. There was not much trade, because many parties are waiting. There are enough noises that there is a lot of product in storage, but parties are not in a hurry to sell, while the buyers are also waiting. They bet on further price falls. It doesn't seem like the right time has come for either of them. It is clear that the movement must mainly come from the domestic market. For export, most European product is on the expensive side, if there is one to choose from. The European product has the international advantage that it is often available and that there is a wide range and of high quality. But then you also have to pull out your wallet.

The quotation of whole milk powder still rose, but this is strongly influenced by the high butter price. In addition, the whole milk powder price is often seen as primarily a 'calculation price'. The market for solid powder is not very liquid. The product is mainly made to order.

Stable butter price
The butter price has been fairly stable for months in a row and has been quoted almost constantly somewhere around €7.000 per tonne since roughly May. This should indicate a reasonably good balance between supply and demand. There seem to be no surpluses, not even any significant stocks. Long-term storage is also too expensive for various reasons. Traders are signaling declining consumer interest in the more expensive types of branded butter, such as Kerrygold, Anchor and Campina, but this is not yet reflected in the regular butter quotation.

The problem is that not all milk can go into cheese and fresh production. The room quotation was slightly weaker this week, but in view of the minor decline, no conclusions can be drawn from that. The quotation for skimmed milk concentrate was slightly higher, presumably due to some extra demand for fresh production (yogurts, desserts).