Milk News, 24.04.2025

In the 15th calendar week, milk deliveries in Germany continued to rise in line with the season. According to the ZMB, the week-on-week increase was 0.2%, but is still 1.8% below the previous year's level. Since the beginning of the year, the decline has been 2.1%. The development of raw milk prices varied from region to region: in Germany, the spot price fell by 0.5 cents to an average of 43.60 cents/kg according to ife. In the Netherlands, however, prices rose slightly. No current data was published for Italy due to public holidays.

Despite a slight increase in trading activity before Easter, the market for food-grade skimmed milk powder remained quiet overall. Most transactions for the current quarter have already been concluded, although there was still short-term demand in some cases. Negotiations for the third quarter have been tough so far - the price expectations of market participants are far apart. On the global market, a weak US dollar and aggressively priced US suppliers continue to weigh on the export business. The short supply - due to low milk volumes - has not yet contributed to a noticeable price increase. The product is considered relatively fresh and prices remained stable compared to the previous week in a range of EUR 2,390 to 2,460/t, as reported by the exchange in Kempten. On the EEX in Leipzig, futures prices fell in mid-April. The average price for delivery dates up to December 2025 fell to EUR 2,467/t. Expectations are currently above the spot market level, particularly later in the year. Trading volumes rose significantly compared to the previous week to 2,325 tons.

The cheese market was buoyant around Easter: demand in the food retail and bulk consumer sectors was high and existing contracts were called up quickly. Producers expressed their satisfaction with the Easter business. In some cases, there were supply bottlenecks - not due to a lack of availability, but due to logistical challenges. After the holidays, some market participants were noticeably less willing to buy. Uncertainty prevails in view of the current animal health situation: a new case of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary and the potential impact of US customs policy contributed to the reluctance to buy. Milk deliveries also remain an uncertainty factor, particularly in view of possible restrictions due to bluetongue. Exports within the EU were typical for the season, with Italy experiencing lower demand due to the weather. In contrast, third countries - particularly from Asia - showed lively interest. Despite the limited competitiveness of European prices on the global market, some business was concluded. Meanwhile, cheese stocks remained tightly filled, with mostly young goods. Price negotiations for the coming month are still ongoing. Quotations in Hanover remained unchanged in the 17th calendar week: Bread goods continued at 4.80 to 5.00 EUR/kg, block goods at 4.50 to 4.70 EUR/kg.

Following the lively pre-Easter business, the market momentum for packaged butter weakened somewhat in the week under review. Fewer delivery days were available due to public holidays, which was reflected in declining call-off figures - both on a weekly and year-on-year basis. Nevertheless, market participants continue to rate overall demand as good.

Positive impetus is expected in the coming weeks from the end of the vacations and the start of the asparagus season. Dairy selling prices for molded goods were stable at the end of April. Quotations on the butter and cheese exchange in Kempten also remained unchanged at EUR 7.40 to 7.80/kg.

In the entry-level price segment of the food retail trade, a 250-gram pack of German brand butter continued to cost EUR 1.99 at the end of April - an increase of 24 cents compared to the same period last year.