Although I’m well known in yachting circles for running aground, my milk powder depth-sounder sensed the bottom last week, and with the return of autumn weather comes the buying interest, and up the market seems to be going. It’s not all seaweed-reading, the facts are that as the dollar has taken a pasting, and domestic milk powders are relatively cheap, US traders have stolen some big orders to Algeria and other markets that traditionally source from the EU. Couple this with low liquid milk production in Europe and the middle market forcing some arbitrage, and both whey and particularly skim look ripe for a bull run, possibly in excess of €100/tonne.

It has started slowly, whey is only up €10, and although edible skim milk is unchanged, feed grade has jumped €20. What is significant is that these rises represent the return of volume purchases, and as calf milk replacer orders for autumn calving come in, traders sense blood. As this peculiar year has seen feast and famine, then feast, and the cheap parcels of off-grade powders have disappeared, order times going into September could roll out to three or four weeks.

BDC agri is the UK broker for Lacto Production milk and whey powder products.

For further information and prices, contact Greg Dunn on 01206 381521 or g.dunn@blackdiamondcommodities.com