European dairy quotations were mixed last week, with average prices dropping across the board, while whey increased slightly, according to multi-national financial services firm, StoneX.
The average prices of butter, skim milk powder (SMP), and whole milk powder (WMP) all decreased during the week ending on Sunday, July 31, according to StoneX senior EU dairy analyst Dr. Peter Meehan.
Whey, however, saw its first increase since mid-April (+0.5%) reaching €960, which was driven by higher German quotations, while French and Dutch whey remained unchanged.
The butter index declined for the seventh time in a row, falling by €13 (-0.2%) to €7,187, which was mainly driven by lower German quotations.
SMP recorded its sixth decline in a row, dropping by 3.1% to €3,768, while the WMP index moved down by 1.4% to €4,877, both due to a drop in German, French and Dutch quotations.
Dairy trade volumes
The total volume traded on the European Energy Exchange (EEX) last week reached 7,230t across 1,446 lots. Wednesday was the busiest day for trade activity with 2,820t sold.
815t of butter and 6,415t of SMP, a new weekly record for SMP volume, were traded.
“EEX butter futures recovered some ground last week, up 2.8% on average across the August 2022-March 2023 strip with an average price of €6,838. EEX SMP was slightly higher with its average price coming in at €3,614, up 0.1% on the week.
“EEX whey was also slightly firmer, up 0.4% on average over its August 2022-March 2023 strip with an average price of €988,” Dr. Meehan said.
The total EEX trade volume in July reached 18,710t, with butter accounting for 5,005t (1,001 lots); while SMP accounted for 12,515t (2,503 lots); and whey accounted for the remaining 1,190t (238 lots).
A mixed week was also recorded for the EEX cheese indices, with gouda being the only one to see a slight gain, while the indices for cheddar curd, mild cheddar, and mozzarella moved lower.
Milk production
The StoneX dairy analysis shows that European milk production in May is estimated at 14.65 million tonnes, down 1.8% year-on-year.
Year-to-date collections for EU member states, plus the UK, are 1.1% behind last year at 68.09 million tonnes. Fat was reported at 4.00%, while protein content is calculated at 3.37%.
Argentinian milk collections in June came in at 942 kiltons (kt), down 0.7% year-on-year. Fat content was reported at 3.89%, up from 3.81% in 2021 while protein content came in at 3.50%.