Daily milk deliveries down but prices stable

Following similar declines in November and December 2012, daily milk deliveries were down 5.3% in January on the previous year.

UK daily deliveries for the two weeks ending 9 February averaged 34.3m litres a day, which was 1.8m litres a day lower than the same period of 2012, said a DairyCo report. Versus the three-year average, current deliveries are around 1.3m litres a day, or 3.6% lower.

In the EU, production between April and November 2012 was marginally up on 2011 by 0.8%. However, the biggest milk producers saw a decline in milk deliveries – the UK and France were down 5.9% and 3.7% respectively.

Tight supply has resulted in a continued increase in average EU 27 milk prices – up 2% in November on the previous month. “However, with supply tight, processors may try to encourage production by keeping price stable longer,” said the report.

Both food and feed grade SMP prices are noticeably up on the previous year, while butter prices have decreased on the previous month in line with seasonal trends. Cheese prices remain stable.

Market report