DOC Kaas takes the lead on milk prices

The milk price of DOC Kaas will continue to rise in May and is opting for a larger increase than many other processors this month. The milk price of DOC is making up ground clearly. For May, DOC Kaas raises the basic milk price by €1.09 to €41.68 per 100 kilos, calculated at an annual supply of 1 million kilos and the standard contents in the Netherlands. This makes the increase much larger than at other processors, which often did not go beyond a dime. In the DCA Farm Gate Milkprice Calculator DOC Kaas is temporarily in first place and seems likely to be hard to catch. The lead over number two FrieslandCampina amounts to €0.77 per 100 kilos. Also including premiums linked to the Tuurlijk milk stream, DOC Kaas will lead in May with a payout price of €48.68 per 100 kilos. Making up groundIn January, DOC Kaas was still at the bottom of the Milk Price Comparator. The ground that has been made up is striking. The relatively rapid rise in the DOC milk price is linked to the recovery in the whey powder market. Together with parent company DMK, the company is a major cheese producer and producer of whey powder and that supports the milk price. The prices of regular whey powder have recently risen to a record high level of €1,750 per ton, according to the dairy benchmarks of DCA Market Intelligence. Since the turn of the year that is an increase of 60%. This is partly related to the protein trend in the consumer market, which is increasing demand for whey powder. Cheese prices have recently been under pressure, but have now seen the bottom.