EU wholesale prices

Updated 13 May 2021

An overview of how the dairy markets are moving in the EU. Price series comparing average EU wholesale prices of butter, SMP, WMP and cheese. They are updated on a monthly basis.

As of 1 February 2020 the MMO has changed its data reporting to EU (excluding UK), including historic data back to January 2016. For historic EU-28 prices up to Dec 2019, please download the spreadsheet using the link below.

In April, dairy product prices continued to strengthen on EU markets. As we head towards the seasonal peak of milk production, deliveries in Germany have improved from year earlier levels in recent weeks. However, poor weather conditions have continued to impact deliveries elsewhere, including France. Limited availability of raw milk has driven price increases in recent months and tighter supplies overall could continue to support current price levels.

Butter prices firmed at both the start and end of April, resulting in a healthy increase month on month. Strong retail demand at the beginning of April were behind the increase in prices.

Milk powder prices also lifted in April. SMP prices increased steadily throughout the month, with low SMP stocks supporting these rises. WMP also lifted on average, although this was due to a jump at the start of the month, with renewed demand helping to sustain pricing.

Prices for whey powder lifted significantly on the month. These followed a similar pattern to WMP for April, with price gains seen at the beginning and end of the month, followed by relative stability in the latter part.

On average, cheese prices were relatively steady in April, although price trends varied by type. Edam rose steady through the month to lift 1.1% on March. Meanwhile Cheddar and Gouda saw marginal increases, rising 0.6% and 0.3% respectively. Emmental dropped back just 0.2%.