the Milk Market Observatory report for March 2023 – Ruminantia – Web Magazine of the world of Ruminants

The quarterly meeting of theMilk Market Observatoryorganized by the European Commission to monitor the EU dairy sector.

Here are the main data highlighted:

• In January 2024, Average farm-gate milk prices in the EU increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month, reaching 46.73 cents per kilogram. This price is -16.2% lower than in January 2023. Member States’ estimates indicate a slight decrease in milk prices in February 2024, to 46.34 cents per kilogram (-0.8%).
• In all Member States milk prices were lower than the previous year. The highest prices of organic cow’s milk in January 2024 were reported in Cyprus (102.5 cents per kilogram), Spain (62.2 cents per kilogram) and Poland (62 cents per kilogram), while the lowest were reported in Latvia (36.9 cents per kilogram), the Czech Republic (47.6 cents per kilogram) and Lithuania (48 cents per kilogram). Only in Latvia were organic prices reported lower than conventional milk prices.

• There EU cow’s milk collection continues to decline. EU milk deliveries decreased in January 2024 by 0.9% (-104,000 tonnes) compared to January 2023. In the two largest milk producing countries, Germany and France, milk production decreased by -2% respectively and -0.3%. Milk deliveries in January are decreased in 14 Member States, with the largest decreases in Ireland (-22.4%), Bulgaria (-7.5%), Greece (-5.9%), Croatia (-5.4%) and the Netherlands (-3%). Significant increases in production were recorded in Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, Austria and Romania. In January 2024, the 3.7% of the total of the raw milk collected it was organic, with the highest percentages reported in Austria (17.8%), Sweden (11.9%) and Denmark (11.4%), and the lowest in Poland (0.1%), Estonia (0.3 %), Bulgaria (0.3%) and Portugal (0.4%). No collection of organic milk was reported in Malta and Croatia.
• There SMP production (skimmed milk powder) from the EU is decreased in 2023 by -4.9% compared to 2022. EU production instead increased for other categories of dairy products such as: fermented (+1.8%), drinking milk (+0.3%), cheese ( +1.5%), cream (+3%), butter (+2.2%), condensed milk (+6.7%) and WMP (whole milk powder) (+3%).

• The prices are increased in the last 4 weeks (until 17/03/2024) for butter (+2.1%), cheddar (+7.2%), gouda (+2.1%) and edam (+2 .7%), and decreased for whey powder (-1.2%), SMP (-2.5%), WMP (-2.7%) and Emmental (-1.3% ).

• EU dairy exports increased in 2024 (including UK) for all dairy products: SMP (+10%), butter (+15%), condensed (+8%), whey powder (+4%), cheese ( +4%), WMP (+12%) and for butteroil (+6%). Total exports of the EU in 2023 expressed in milk equivalent increased by +8% and the value of these exports was -1% lower than in 2022. The value of EU dairy exports exceeded 14.95 billion of Euro.
• Butter exports of the EU increased towards the United States (+12%), Saudi Arabia (+80%), China (+26%), South Korea (+10%), Morocco (+117%) and other major destinations, but decreased towards the UK (-19%). Cheese exports from the EU to the United Kingdom increased by +1%, to Switzerland by +1%, to China by +16% and from Chile from 9,549 tonnes to 27,933 tonnes (+193%), but decreased towards the United States United States by -2%, towards Japan by -7%, towards South Korea (-9%) and Saudi Arabia by -8%.
• SMP exports of the EU increased towards Algeria by +29%, Egypt by +27%, Saudi Arabia by +58%, Malaysia by +27% and Yemen by +12%, but decreased towards China (-16%), l Indonesia (-37%) and the Philippines (-18%). WMP exports of the EU increased towards the United Kingdom (+9%), the Dominican Republic (+16%), Saudi Arabia (+2%), Algeria (6,808 tonnes to 25,873 tonnes) and Nigeria (from 3,739 tonnes to 14,064 tonnes), but decreased to other major destinations, including China (-33%), Oman (-13%) and Kuwait (-24%).

• New Zealand milk production in January 2024 (eighth month of the new season) it decreased by -1.7%, and by -0.5% in the period July 2023 – January 2024. In January 2024, milk prices increased by +3.1% , reaching 33.5 cents per kilogram.
• Australia’s milk production in January 2024 it increased by +4.9% (seventh month of the new season) and increased by +2.5% in the 2023/2024 season.
• Milk production in the UK in January 2024 it decreased by -0.3%.
• Milk production in the United States decreased by -0.4% in January 2024 (seven times since the beginning of June 2022). The January farmgate milk price fell 5% to 35.6 cents per kilogram.
• In the world market (03/17/2024), Dairy prices have decreased over the past fortnight in Oceania and the United States, except for cheddar in Oceania, WMP and butter in the United States. In Oceania, SMP prices fell by -5.3% and WMP by -2.6% over the past two weeks. The US is the most competitive exporter of SMP and cheddar, Oceania for WMP and the EU for butter.