The monthly EU farmgate milk price lifted 0.16c to 33.53c/kg in December but remains down 0.66c/kg (-1.9%) compared to December 2019, according to the latest data from the Dutch Milk Board (LTO). Glanbia recorded the biggest lift in farmgate milk price (+2.6c) due to its early calving bonus, followed by FrieslandCampina (+0.9c), Muller (+0.5c) and Sodiaal (+0.1c). Danone’s December milk price was seasonally down 1.3c, while Saputo Dairy UK’s milk price fell 0.4c due to depreciation of the Sterling. According to data from LTO, monthly milk prices decreased 2.0% in 2020, compared to 2019.

The German-based IFE institute’s estimated average EU raw milk value rose 0.6c to 32.0c/l at the beginning of February, a hike of 7.4% since the end of December based on prices of butter and SMP in Germany, France and the Netherlands. The average SMP price across the three countries rose €42 to €2,387/t, while average butter climbed €50 to €3,497/t.

In Ireland, Ornua’s Purchase Price Index (PPI) which measures value paid to member coops for Ornua products rose 3.0% to 107.3 in January, which converts to a milk price of 31.4c/l, up 1.2c/l from December.