With the newly formed European Milk Market Observatory having its first year anniversary, there are moves afoot to beef it up and make it more relevant to the industry.

One change that was announced in the last week was the regular publication of a price and trend ‘dashboard’ to give industry and stakeholders a one stop – one sheet stop to get the latest trends and information. (See the link below for the latest dashboard.)

There is a feeling politically and in the industry that far too much attention is being put on the New Zealand based and controlled bimonthly Global Dairy Trade auctions, and that while it certainly serves as an indicator for global prices and trends, it is not reflective of the dairy market on the ground in Europe.

To this end the Commission is looking to get the MMO to meet more often, that member states give more timely and accurate statistics and that eventually the reports of the MMO might become a more credible and effective counterbalance to the frenzy that surrounds the GDT announcements at present.

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/milk-market-observatory/pdf/dashboard-dairy_en.pdf

By Conor Mulvihill