Dairy market review: Price and policy update - July 2020

Year of publication2020

AuthorFAO

PublisherFAO

AbstractInternational dairy prices in June, measured by the FAO Dairy Price Index, were down by 5.7 points (5.4 percent) from January 2020, with skim milk powder (SMP) registering the sharpest fall (-15.3 percent), followed by butter (11.8 percent), whole milk powder (WMP) (-11.2 percent), while cheese prices rose (+1.6 percent). In the key dairy importing countries, COVID-19-related lockdowns and social distancing measures reduced food-service sales in the first months of the year, especially of fresh milk and milk products, which were only partly offset by increased sales of dairy products with a longer shelf-life, such as UHT milk, packaged butter and cheese. As in other economic crises, the deterioration of income prospects weighed disproportionately on consumer demand for high-value food commodities, such as dairy products. Depressed retail milk sales resulted in larger volumes of milk being processed in industrial plants, where such facilities were operational. In dairy exporting countries, milk was mostly diverted to drying dairy plants, boosting production, and availability of milk powders. Overall, the downgrading of economic prospects and market disruptions caused by the pandemic are anticipated to result in a fall in global dairy imports in 2020, which, amid adequate availabilities in key exporting countries, could keep international prices under pressure.

 

ThemeAgricultural Commodities and Development

Product typeJournal; magazine; bulletin

SeriesDairy Market Review

Areas of workGlobal Commodity Markets

CommodityMilk and dairy

Keywordsdairy industry; milk production; milk products; international trade; trade statistics; world markets; forecasting