MD_DA104                                                         
DA                                                               
MD DA104 Butter/Butteroil - Europe                               

MADISON, WI.  March 03, 2016 (REPORT 9)                          

WESTERN EUROPE                                                   
INFORMATION GATHERED  02/22/2016 - 03/03/2016                    
U.S. DOLLARS PER METRIC TON, FOB PORT                            
                                                                 
WESTERN EUROPE                                                   
                                                                 
BUTTER/BUTTEROIL:  

Butter pricing in the EU weakened significantly. The view of some EU 
butter manufacturers is that this represents a trend of weaker butter 
markets which has been developing for weeks. Butter is believed by 
some in the industry to be heading toward pricing that would initiate 
a butter intervention program. The EU butter intervention price is 
2,217 Euros/MT, which at the current exchange rate is $2,406 US. The 
lower pricing is helping export efforts, in terms of being able to 
compete on price with Oceania and the U.S. However, current sales 
potential, domestic and export, is tempered as buyers with timing 
flexibility step back in anticipation of weakening prices in the near 
term. In the EU, interest is stronger in packaged butter than bulk 
butter. Overall butter sales, domestic and export, are not enough to 
keep private storage inventories from rising.



82% BUTTERFAT:            2,550 - 2,725                          
99% BUTTERFAT:            3,500 - 3,925                          

0930c Eric.Graf@ams.usda.gov 608.557.7005
USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin
Dairy Market News website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
Dairy Market News database portal: 
http://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/da-home