The European Commission has secured approval from EU countries to hold two tenders instead of one each month from October to sell skimmed milk powder (SMP) from intervention stocks.

Just under 100,000t have been sold – nearly all this year – from the stockpile accumulated during the 2015-2016 milk price crash. The Commission hopes to achieve total sales of 150,000t by the end of this year. Current stocks stand at over 300,000t.

“Despite strong availabilities in stocks and freshly produced SMP, steady demand boosted mainly by exports, helped to reverse the declining trend in the SMP price in April,” the Commission said in its latest short-term outlook.

It expects strong demand to continue absorbing intervention stocks for the rest of this year, despite a recovery in EU SMP production. No new SMP has gone into intervention since the scheme stopped offering a guaranteed price in March.