March 13, 2014
Brazil''s milk prices down slightly in February
Brazil''s milk purchases by cooperatives and the industry registered slight decreases at this beginning of 2014 after consecutive price rises last year, according to the Index for Milk Purchases (ICAP-Leite Cepea).
The smaller production in January is due mainly to the dry weather in Central-Southern states in Brazil, according to Centre for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) researchers.
In spite of the smaller production, milkquotes paid to producers moved down 0.41% in February, considering the "average of Brazil" (Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Bahia States). Since 2004, price drops had not been verified by CEPEA from January to February. Among regions surveyed by CEPEA, milk quotes upped only in Goiás, Minas Gerais and Bahia.
After price rises for seven months in a row, ICAP-Leite Cepea downed slightly 0.3% from December 2013 to January 2014. The dry weather in several producing regions affected pastures and the food production for the upcoming months. Moreover, the high volume of milk in stocks of dairy companies/cooperatives reduced the pace of raw material purchases.
In February 2014, milk prices paid to producers, which includes freight and taxes, was BRL0.9910 (US$0.42) per litre- weighted average by the purchased volume in January in Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Bahia States. Gross prices in February surpassed in 5.6% quotes verified in February 2013 (real terms- IPCA January 2014).
Ultra-heat treatment (UHT) milk prices in the wholesale market of the Greater São Paulo upped 2.4% in relation from January to February, after five consecutive months of decreases. Mozzarella cheese values, on the other hand, downed only 0.59% in the same period.