Butter prices continue to rise

At the beginning of September, prices for butter in the 250 gram format, which is mainly intended for the retail trade, started to move upwards again. They have thus followed the trend for block products, but not yet to the same extent. In Kempten, packaged goods were quoted at an average of 8Ct/kg higher; this means that they are still slightly behind block goods. In most cases, however, small packaged goods are more expensive than block butter. It remains to be seen whether this will still apply at the high price level that has now been reached. It is possible that this rule will only become apparent again when the situation on the butter market eases, which is not yet foreseeable. Towards the end of August, demand for packaged butter picked up not only in view of the end of the summer vacations, but also in anticipation of higher prices. This is because the market is still relatively short of supplies, as can be seen from the fact that by the end of the deadline for private storage with aid under contract with the market authorities, only a small amount of butter had been registered for this purpose. According to the EU Commission, just under 90,000 tons are available from these stocks to supplement supply in autumn and winter, around 44,000 tons less than at the end of August 2012. 1.04 million tons less butter was produced in the EU in the first half of the year and 26,000 tons less was imported from third countries, namely New Zealand. The fact that storage has nevertheless been reduced so significantly indicates a relatively stable trend in consumption despite high prices.