DCA Benchmarks: Cheese commentary week 50

The cheese market had a slight increase in prices in week 50, with cheddar and foil cheese benchmarks providing some upward momentum.Cheddar mild closed at €3,315 (+2.5%) and curd at €3,225 per ton (+1.7%), making curd the product with the highest increases this week.The foil cheese market also had some mild increases, with Edam closing at €2,920 and Gouda at €2,940 per ton. Cagliata at €3,200 per ton and Mozzarella at €2,890 per ton (+1.4%). Mozzarella was one of the products with the highest standard deviations at 3.5%, with values ranging between €2,800 and €3,100 per ton.Emmentaler was the commodity with the largest decline, falling by €85 to €3,790 per ton, and Maasdam had a slight decline to €3,800 (-1.5%). Frau Antje is being traded almost at the same level as Gouda at €2,950 per ton, with a premium of only €10 per ton. The inputs for Frau Antje also showed wider variation this week, with some inputs at the higher end at €3,225 per ton. This week’s uplift in prices can be attributed to some last-minute demand in the market and limited availability from producers, with traders taking advantage of the situation. However, the situation is perceived by insiders as a short stability moment, given that the pressure from the inflow of liquids continues in and could still bring prices down in the cheese market.