EU milk league

The EU milk price averaged 31.19p/litre during July, up by 1.28p/l on June and 8.96p/l on July 2016. Of the 28 EU member states, Cyprus paid the highest price during July at 50.43p/l followed by Malta on 42.61p/l.

The UK paid 27.84p/l, putting it in 19th position. Northern Ireland paid 28.23p/l during July, but this is included in the UK price. The price in Britain was 27.69p/l. If ranked as a separate milk-producing region, Northern Ireland would be in 18th position in the EU milk price league.

Ireland is well positioned in 11th place with a July price of 31.88p/l. The Netherlands is placed in fifth at 33.97p/l.

Skim milk powder

Prices for skim milk powder (SMP) have come under pressure in the past month, with 1,300t sold into intervention in early September.

EU prices have ranged from €1,650/t to €1,815/t during August, with the current intervention buying window to close at the end of September. Last week’s Dutch auction saw SMP price fall to €1,650/t, well below the €1,698/t intervention price.

Over 350,000t of SMP remains in intervention. Just 4% of intervention stocks are less than one year old. The remaining stocks are reaching the end of their shelf life, after which the only demand will come from the animal feed market.

British price rise

Arla has announced a 1.5p/litre increase in its manufacturing milk price of 32.3p/l. Its liquid milk price is set to increase by 1.43p/l to 31.04p/l. Both prices will take effect from 1 October.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has increased its cost-of-production milk by 0.24p/l. Under the supply agreement, milk price is reviewed every quarter and price is moved to reflect production costs. This brings Müller suppliers to 28.21p/l, while Arla suppliers move into 28.09p/l from 1 October.