Cheese and fresh milk products still have to catch up with returns from SMP and WMP (whole milk powder). With little growth in consumption within the EU, any expansion in cheese production is geared towards export markets.

Stocks of cheese in ripening houses are reported to be lower than usual and it is likely that these stocks will be replenished for Christmas. This has not happened in previous years as cheese producers stopped production in this period and milk had to be diverted to butter and SMP production. This often led to pressure on prices of industrial cream, skim concentrate, SMP and butter.