It was a relatively stable week for dairy prices on the European market. The general trend continues to be downward pressure on prices, but they are moving slowly, which is good news for sellers and producers.
It was a relatively stable week for dairy prices on the European market.
The general trend continues to be downward pressure on prices, but they are moving slowly, which is good news for sellers and producers.
Butter prices remain unchanged this week to last week, sitting at a very respectable €6,970/t.
Whole milk powder (WMP) took the biggest drop of the four commodities we look at, falling in price by €50/t to reach €4.205/t.
The current price of WMP at the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) is €3,965/t and there is a bit of pressure on that price also, as the GDT pulse auction price declined to €3,795/t this week, down €139/t.
Skim milk powder (SMP) remains stable, dropping by €5/t to €2,445/t. This is at odds with the GDT price, because the European price for skim is lower. At the main GDT auction last week, skim went for €2,630/t, while at the pulse this week, it went for €2,656/t, down €53/t on the previous pulse price.
The low price for SMP in Europe is interesting given that butter and skim milk production has been low for most of 2024. According to Eurostat, butter production for 2024 up to November was back 1.4%, while SMP production was up 0.5%. Interestingly, WMP production for the same period was back 2.2%, while cheese production was up 2.7%. Actual cheddar prices are stable, dropping by €10/t to €4,850/t on the European spot market.
A lot will depend on how production goes this year. Early news from the Netherlands is that January supplies were back 1.8% compared to 2024.
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