Mocking milk and cream take a beating, cheese gains ground

In the Netherlands there is one less processing day this week on King's Day and in Germany on Labor Day (1 May). This situation is difficult to manage for liquid dairy prices, especially because the milk supply in Northwest Europe is much larger than in previous years and is almost at the seasonal peak. In addition, the demand for liquid dairy is at a very low level, due to weak sales of solid end products and stocks are increasing. The latter applies to butter and powder, but does not apply so much to cheese.

Cream cheaper than butter
DCA's cream price has to pay for it and drops sharply. This creates a unique situation: cream is now cheaper than butter, which is also losing ground as a result of the ample supplies. This situation has only occurred rarely in recent history. It marks the imbalance in the market. Skimmed milk concentrate is also dropping hundreds of euros per tonne, while spot milk prices are also under heavy pressure. It is logical to expect liquid dairy products to correct upwards again in the coming weeks. Compared to solid end products, the liquid market is now priced very low.

Upward correction milk powder
Several mild price increases are noticeable on the permanent dairy market. The higher milk powder quotations are particularly striking. This is not so much a signal that the market is picking up again, but it can be seen as an upward correction. Milk powder stocks remain ample and demand remains weak, especially on the global market.

Cheese market most solid
The cheese market is the most steady. This is due to the relatively tight inventories. It is expected that a lot of milk will enter the cheese bin during the peak of milk production, as this provides the best valorization of milk. But sales may also pick up, now that retail prices have been significantly reduced in Germany. Insiders expect cheese consumption to increase.