Brazil milk prices rise in April - Cepea
Milk prices still lower than they were last year
7 May 2024
2 minute read
By: The average price of the milk produced in Brazil in March was at BRL 2.3290/liter on the “Brazil Average”, 4.1% higher than that from February, but 20.3% below March 2023 prices, according to a recent market report from Cepea. Quotations accumulated an increase of 12.9%, in real terms, in the first quarter of this year. However, the average of the three first months of 2024 is 21.7% smaller than that registered in the same period of last year.
This is the fifth consecutive monthly increase of milk prices paid to farmers, and it is explained by the supply decrease. Unfavourable weather conditions (dry and warm weather) and the fact that producers’ margins were limited in the last quarter of 2023 reduced investments.
The Cepea Milk Production Index (ICAP-L) moved down 2.5% between February and March and 7.5% in the first quarter. This scenario reinforces the competition between dairy companies and cooperatives by suppliers in order to guarantee the raw material.
Price rises for the raw milk, however, were not transferred to values of byproducts in the same intensity. According to data from Cepea, quotations of UHT milk and mozzarella cheese rose 3.9% and 0.3%, respectively, in March in the wholesale market of São Paulo state.
Data from Secex show that imports decreased 3.3% in March compared to the month before. However, this amount is still 14.4% higher than that registered in the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2024, imports totalled almost 577.5 million liters, 10.4% more than that observed in the first three months of 2023.
