Milk News, 10th / Jul / 2024

Thu, July 11, 2024

Milk supply in Germany continues to decline due to seasonal factors. In addition to a lower dairy cow herd, milk yields fell slightly in the last month of June.

In the Netherlands, delivery volumes continue to fall. In Ireland, feed shortages are causing a particularly sharp decline of around -8.3% quarter-on-quarter. On average in the EU, a slight increase in milk production of +0.5 % was recorded in the period under review. In the second half of the year, the lactation curve usually points downwards.

Demand: Demand for packet butter remains very lively. However, supply and demand for butter in 25 kg blocks is very restrained. Skimmed milk powder sales also remain weak. Cheese sales, on the other hand, are very lively due to strong demand.

Sales of mixed milk and sour milk drinks are rising in line with the season, while there is still some catching up to do in terms of cream consumption compared to the previous year.

In the EU third country trade, exports of SMP fell by around 11% in the first quarter of 2024, mainly due to the decline in Chinese imports of around 80%; butter exports also fell by 4%.

Milk farm-gate prices are still stable for the current season, but vary depending on the region and company.

EEX butter prices have continued to fall over the past week. This is due to the internationally falling prices in the wholesale sector.

EEX prices for skimmed milk powder are also falling. In this case, too, the weak third-country business is the decisive factor. The latest GDT auction results with price markdowns of around 10 % provide the corresponding price signals.

The current IFE exchange milk value for the month of July-24 has fallen to 46.00 ct/kg. For the remaining months of the year, the butter/MMP prices show results above 47 ct/kg.