Demand For Dairy Products Improving

Demand for dairy products is up significantly compared to last year’s depressed market.

But prices for dairy products likely will remain volatile in coming months due in part to a shift in buying patterns, according to Rick Kment, Telvent DTN dairy analyst.

“With the volatility in the market (milk prices went from a high of about $22 per hundredweight in 2008 to a low of just $9 per hundredweight last year) we’ve seen a significant change in the buying patterns,” Kment told FarmWeek during June Dairy Month. “Rather than buy now and hold inventory, many (wholesalers and retailers) are going to hand-to-mouth levels.”

Wholesalers and retailers in the past typically bought dairy products at a steady pace throughout the year to build inventory for busy sales seasons in the summer and near the end of each year around the holidays.

To read the rest of this story please go to: The Illinois Farm Bureau