Dairy farmers in doubt about phosphate rights

After several sharp corrections in a row, the DCA phosphate rights price rose this week by €7,50 to €212,50 per right. The bottom of the market online is €215. However, buyers are not (yet) willing to do business at that price, causing trading to be at a standstill. The idea is that some traders are playing a game by fluctuating prices to profit from them. This also explains the volatile market pattern of recent weeks.

Although there's no push ahead, there's a latent high level of buying interest. Many farms have been producing substantial amounts of milk, and the resulting increase in manure production often needs to be addressed. If milk prices had remained high, farmers would likely have continued with phosphate. However, many farms are unsure now that payout prices are plummeting and are therefore often postponing phosphate purchases.

Often price increases in December
Dairy farmers facing shortages are wise, according to commission agents, not to wait too long and instead spread out their purchases. The fact is that the market has only risen in 2025 so far, albeit with some fluctuations. A widespread market expectation is that major price drops are unlikely, given the underlying buying interest. Historically, the market also often rebounds in December, when manure accounting needs to be finalized by the end of the month.