Expensive whey is increasingly bypassing pigs

Because liquid whey can increasingly be valorized better, the product is hardly fed to pigs anymore. Instead, it is processed into high-quality protein powders, which can yield more returns for dairy producers. Figures from Dutch Circular Feed association show that sales of whey and milk products to the feed sector fell by almost 20% last year to 500,000 tons. This means the declining trend of recent years is accelerating. Since 2022, there has been a decline of 40%. In the years before that, the trend was more erratic. Protein trend The sharp decline in sales of whey as pig feed is linked, besides the shrinking livestock herd, to the growing popularity of whey. Increasingly, liquid whey is processed into regular whey powder and high-quality WPCs, which are in high demand worldwide. Due to the protein trend, food manufacturers are adding protein to their products more and more often so they can make nutrition and protein claims on the packaging. Products such as milk protein concentrate (MPC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) play an important role in this broader protein market. WPCs in particular are in great demand. The increasing use of GLP-1 weight loss medicines, such as Ozempic, is contributing to attention for high-protein foods. Users of these medicines are often advised to get enough protein, partly because of the risk of losing muscle mass. The Netherlands produced 8.9 million tons of liquid whey last year, according to Eurostat figures. In contrast, 500,000 tons of whey and milk products were sold to the feed sector. This shows that the sale of liquid whey to the pig sector was already a squeezed stream, says Wim Thielen, secretary of Circular Feed, when asked. According to him, the whey that is still sold to the pig sector mainly comes from small cheese factories and self-dairies that have no use for it. In addition, a small portion of the liquid whey is still fermented, for example in the event of quality problems. The large dairy factories have long since found high-quality uses for whey, for example as an ingredient for baby food and for the production of lactose, says Thielen. Large dairy companies such as FrieslandCampina and Arla are also investing in additional processing capacity for dairy and whey ingredients. This is further increasing competition for liquid whey as a raw material, especially if milk supply starts to dry up. Whey concentrate much more expensive The days when liquid whey was sometimes sold to the feed sector for almost nothing seem to be over. The growing demand for whey concentrate is also reflected in the price trend. The DCA benchmark for whey concentrate rose at the beginning of September to €1,500 per ton, the highest level ever. Since the beginning of this year, this represents an increase of almost 120%. In the coming years, the supply of liquid whey available for sale to the feed sector will very likely continue to decline. In addition to the tighter availability of liquid whey, the ever higher prices are also making the product increasingly less interesting as animal feed.