Mintec proposes to launch additional EU Dairy Mintec Benchmark Prices

All Market Notes 06 April 2023

Mintec is proposing to launch three weekly dairy Mintec Benchmark Prices (MBP) and one monthly dairy Mintec Benchmark Prices (MBP) for the EU markets, and is collecting feedback from market participants in the dairy markets until Monday, 24th April 2023.

If the industry supports this proposal, Mintec suggests launching the weekly assessments on Thursday 11th May and the monthly assessment on Wednesday, 31st May. The proposed specifications for these assessments would be as below:

The proposed assessments would reflect the transactable value at 16:00:00 London time. The EU is one of the largest players in the global dairy industry and a key exporter. The launch of the new assessments would give users greater clarity in understanding price movements and allow for product comparisons at a regional level.

Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is a key protein source for food supplements like ice cream, bakery, desserts, cheese production etc. The launch of the EU MPC assessment would provide transparency in a market which is currently very opaque, and lacks independent and impartial price benchmarks.

The proposed skimmed milk concentrate (SMC) assessments would complement Mintec’s existing EU SMC assessment and allow for more granular comparisons between two major producing countries. Additionally, the price and availability of SMC act as indicators on how much skimmed milk powder (SMP) and butter are being produced. This would allow for Mintec customers to gain additional insight on when market conditions favour the production of those products over cheese and whey.

The proposed cream assessment compliments Mintec’s existing offering within the dairy markets and would allow Mintec customers to compare prices in major producing origins. Furthermore, the assessment would provide an additional view into butter and chocolate production costs, as cream is a major input for these products.

Please send any questions or comments about this market note to Methodology@mintecglobal.com, by Monday, 24th April 2023 and clearly state which market note your comments relate to, and if comments are intended for publication by Mintec.

Mintec will acknowledge receipt of all comments by email.