Report 37 – Released on September 10, 2020

WESTERN OVERVIEW:

Discussions between the United Kingdom and European Union surrounding their future relationship recently took a new direction. The UK proposes rescinding some parts of previous agreements affecting Northern Irish borders. This leaves great uncertainty as to future trade relationships.

Early September post heat wave milk production is reported to be quite decent in some countries. Irish sources say that even in July, very wet summer helped milk production rebound to a good increase compared with last year. The same perspective comes from Germany for early September.

Internal EU demand for sliced cheese is very good. This fact, coupled with lower milk production during the recent heat wave in Germany and France in particular, have led to tighter cheese supplies. Some aging stocks have been sacrificed to meet current demand. A longer-term goal is to build the aging stocks, but not now. Current contracts are being met. Some inquiries for new contracts cannot be met.

EASTERN OVERVIEW:

Preliminary data for Poland indicates that July milk production was up from July last year.Production also was higher than the three-year average. The civil unrest in Belarus has disrupted some dairy exports. Uncertainty as to normalization returning is an active topic of discussion.