Milch News, 03/21/2024

The milk quantity development is going sideways. In the first ten weeks of the new year, dairies in Germany had around 1 percent less raw milk available than in the first ten weeks of the previous year. There are currently weaker price trends on the raw material markets. The supply of cream and skimmed milk concentrate is described as sufficient. Sports market milk is traded another 0.9 cents per kilogram lower at 35.6 cents/kg. A similar development can also be seen on the spot market in the Netherlands, while Italian prices rose slightly. The development of butter is inconsistent. Molded butter is purchased from manufacturers at a constant level, especially by food retailers. Impulses from the Easter business vary in intensity regionally. Many dairies are pinning their hopes on the asparagus business after Easter. The dairy sales prices appeared to be stable in yesterday's quotation. Different with block butter. Here the price was reduced by an average of 20 cents/kg. After prices rose significantly in February, buyers are again taking a more cautious approach and are primarily ordering spontaneous items. In exports, however, demand is reported to have picked up slightly. Butter has recently trended weaker on the EEX and prices have also fallen at the Global Dairy Trade Tender in New Zealand. Prices for cheese remain stable. Both the listing commission in Hanover and the South German Butter and Cheese Exchange continued the previous price levels unchanged. Very good demand is reported for Emmentaler, while the market for Gouda is balanced. The Easter business did not provide any additional stimulus. Nevertheless, demand and goods output remain at a high level. There is increasing demand from abroad, especially from the Spanish holiday regions and Asia. The prices for skimmed milk powder continued to fall this week. Demand is low and new business transactions are hardly being concluded in anticipation of further falling prices. Manufacturers therefore concentrate primarily on the production of ordered goods. The export business is also very quiet because of Ramadan. However, stocks are rarely built up because they are used in other products. On the EEX, the contracts for skimmed milk powder fell over the week. The Global Dairy Trade Tender also showed price quotations that were 4.6 percent lower. On the other hand, the market for whole milk powder remains balanced. Supply and demand are balanced, but the price still fell slightly. Internationally, whole milk powder from Germany and Europe remains hardly competitive. Food-grade whey powder is once again in somewhat greater demand. Short-term deliveries in particular are the focus of market activity. However, due to the high supply, prices moved sideways despite good demand.