Cream and concentrate still get a boost

It is thought-provoking that raw milk prices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have not risen any further this week. They remain stable at a high level, with thin trading. They are also more or less equal to the upper end of the Dutch factory prices for November. Due to the limited volumes being traded, this week's liquid dairy prices will probably not have much influence on factory prices either.

Although with difficulty, the room price of DCA still rose by more than 2% this week, but demand is matched by a slightly increasing supply. As a result, the price towards the end of the week was weaker than at the beginning.

There is still not much trade. Behind the slightly falling cream prices at the end of the week there is a now more clearly falling butter price. Not yet for fresh product that has to be used immediately, but for butter that has to come on the market in the new year.

The mood for the skimmed milk concentrate market is different. Here, demand exceeds supply. Mainly due to good sales to Greece and excellent sales to fresh produce. The DCA listing also increases by more than 4%. 

It will also help that the milk powder market continues to rise. It gives with modest steps, but the DCA quotation for skimmed milk powder is still more than 3% higher this week than last week. It can still not be said that the market for this product is in good shape and/or recovered.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that there is movement in the market again. Buyers are showing up again and there are also more export opportunities. Not yet to all destinations, because on the Algerian market, for example, European products are experiencing strong competition from cheaper milk powder from a country like Belarus. On the other hand, the stronger dollar exchange rate does help to be able to compete better on the world market.
The prices for regular milk powders remain virtually unchanged, while the price for whey concentrate has now come very close to that. However, this concentrate is not often used to make regular powder. It is the raw material for expensive whey protein concentrates and isolates. 

The cheese market is not doing well for dairy this week. Most cheese prices are being pushed down. The hardest hits are for cheddar and mozzarella. Gouda foil is experiencing less price pressure, while the price for natural cheese remains virtually the same.