Greg's Milk Monitor 13 12 24: Multidirectional

Call me a geek, but the one thing that always fascinates me in a factory visit is the forklift, but that’s another story. The multidirectional I refer to is the current milk powder market, as strange forces are at play.

Skim fell a notable 2% this week, down €50 to €2500, but whey remains stubbornly unchanged at €880. Whilst there are now plentiful offers of skim, processors are holding the line on whey price and discounts are nowhere to be seen. The troubles for the blender remain, in that availability for important components like whey protein concentrate is difficult, whilst delactosed whey is downright impossible to find, and the price for every additional ingredient remains high or is still rising. 

Taking a look back at the year, it hasn’t been the best for the trading community, save for the dawn raid they made on sweet whey at the beginning of the summer holidays. 

Skim milk shows an even tighter price banding and is also virtually a re-run of 2023, with traders only enjoying harvesting some arbitrage in Q3.

Background markets have been dull, soya is still hanging at the $10 bushel level, despite the downward indicators, palm is finally down a few percent but still not responding to cheaper soft oils, and geopolitics still hold crude oil at $70 a barrel. The only brighter spot for the UK is the pound is enjoying a spell as the least unfavourable currency, as the poor old euro is getting a pasting. 

BDC agri is the UK broker for Lacto Production milk and whey powder products.

For further information and prices, contact Greg Dunn on 01206 381521 or g.dunn@blackdiamondcommodities.com