Milk in key exporting regions
%-change versus previous year
Europe
Strong demand for liquids pushes spot prices above commodity manufacturing levels
Peak supply arrived late in the EU, but due to strong recovery in Ireland this spring April volumes were finally above last year’s levels. The liquids market in the EU had a window of only a couple of weeks when it made economic sense to produce SMP from skimmed concentrate. That window has now already closed again. Warm spring weather and a lot of tourist activity in Southern Europe pushed liquids demand to higher levels and prices followed immediately. Skimmed concentrate is now priced around EUR 2/kg, coming from EUR 1.60 a month ago or even EUR 1 in Ireland. Cream demand is also strong and spot milk prices are also appreciating again. In Germany buyers have to pay about EUR 0.48, in France the price is EUR 0.42 and in the Netherlands and Belgium around EUR 0.50.
Americas
US milk production growth gains pace
US milk production is gradually building towards higher growth rates. April milk production was 1.5% above 2024 volumes. When looking at the regional distribution it appears that milk production in the cheese production states – especially those where new capacity has recently been added – grows rapidly whereas the powder and butter producing states are in decline. This appears to foreshadow the US’ milk allocation priorities going forward, either driven by the market developments on the domestic market or by opportunities in exports.
Asia-Pacific
The Oceania season is winding down
Aggregated volumes of Australia and New Zealand are slightly below last year, but anticipation about a strong start of the new season is already building. Milk prices are expected to remain favorable and physical circumstances so far appear to be good enough to get the cows through the winter in good condition.
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