Summary of the week 29

Cheese

Cheese prices remain more or less unchanged. However, producers ask for higher bids for the upcoming month. Talks about contracts for Q4 are rolling. Exports to the Southern part of Europe vary, as the future is unknown with the growing number of COVID-19 cases. Cagliata’s price is set too high and that causes an impasse. When it comes to Gouda, the situation looks similar – the offer is higher by 5-10 cents than bids.

Butter

Butter cubes’ price is on the rise. The demand for cubes is higher throughout Europe as more people decide to stay at home for the holidays. The contract for major German discounter for August was closed higher than the previous one. Buyers, however, try to buy in bulk to cut the price as much as possible. The negotiations are tough. In Q1 European butter was mostly exported to the UK, Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.

Liquids

Cream price dropped at the beginning of the week then bounced back by the end. Producers try to sell the unused cream that brings a good return. Most liquids remain stable.

Powders

SMP price is higher in Western Europe, but the market is quiet. It is most likely caused by summer holidays in Europe, but also not much stock is left to sell for Q3. Q4 however, is still being worked on. It’s not an easy job, as the price expectations of buyers and sellers don’t go along. The data for Q1 shows that the most popular export destinations for SMP were Algeria, China, and Egypt. As for whey, bids also slightly went up. Still, the quantities are even higher than needed, which allows spot transactions to happen. In this department, Q4 is also discussed. In the first quarter of the year, whey was mostly exported from EU to China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. FCMP got firmer and Q3 is already done in terms of contracts and availability. Those who find some product for spot transactions must agree to pay a little more. The main export destinations of Q1 were Oman, UK, and Nigeria.