January 17, 2011
Estonia's milk prices increase by 5%
The buying price of raw milk has gone up a bit at around 5% at the beginning of the New Year compared with the final months of 2010, said the managers of Estonian dairies.
Noppel named the current situation on the raw milk market and dairies' wish to keep their good partners as the reasons for the price rise.
As to the main reasons for the rise, Finska said the demand for raw milk still outstrips supply which has a direct impact on the price of raw milk.
Asked when the rise in the purchase price of milk will be reflected in dairies' and retail prices, Noppel said that unfortunately there hasn't been a logical connection between the purchase price of milk and the prices at which dairies sell their output for some time already. "This depends in the end on retail chains' contract terms and the behaviour of competitors. It's even less appropriate to associate dairies one-to-one with stores' shelf prices," he said.
