Mintec to launch new European and North American Dairy Mintec Benchmark Prices (MBP)

All Market Notes 15 February 2023

Following a period of market feedback, Mintec has decided to launch 12 new weekly Mintec Benchmark Prices (MBP) for European and US dairy products. The new weekly assessment will begin publication effective Thursday 2nd March 2023, and the monthly assessments on Friday, 31^st March.

The initial proposal was announced in the market note published on 30^th January 2023, which can be viewed here. The proposed specifications for these assessments are:

The assessments will reflect the transactable value at 16:00:00 London time for all assessments.

The European Union and the USA are two of the largest players in the global dairy industries and key exporters. The launch of the new assessments would give users greater clarity in understanding price movements in these key markets.

Fat-filled milk powders normally substitute the more expensive full cream milk powders. Fat-filled powders are skimmed milk powders that are enriched with vegetable fat. It is a key ingredient for the food industry as it is used in ice cream, UHT milk, yogurt, etc.

Buttermilk Powder is manufactured out of buttermilk, a fluid by-product when churning butter, and its main components are water, lactose, proteins, and minerals. It is primarily used in the food service and hospitality sector for salad dressings, biscuits, pastries, ready meals, etc.

Skimmed milk powder is used as an alternative to fresh milk. It can be used after dissolution in water or by directly adding the powder into a formulation. It is used to standardise dry matter or to optimise protein content. It is a key export product and is often used for baby or animal food, confectionery, yogurt, ice cream, etc. Demineralised Whey is used for dairy, bakery, confectionery, and other food and nutritional products (including infant formula) as an economical source of dairy solids, as well as an alternative to sweet whey powder or lactose.

Sweet whey powder is obtained by drying pasteurised sweet whey which is a by-product during the manufacturing process of cheeses. It is used in many different foods (bakery, snack, confectionery) and is a key product for the animal feed industry, primarily for pork compound feed.

Non-fat dried milk is used as an alternative to fresh milk. It can be used after dissolution in water or by directly adding the powder into a formulation. It is used to standardise dry matter or to optimise protein content. It is a key export product and is often used for baby or animal food, confectionery, yogurt, ice cream, etc. Please send any questions or comments about this market note to methodology@mintecglobal.com and clearly state which market note your comments relate to, and if the comments are intended for publication by Mintec.

Mintec will acknowledge receipt of all comments by email.