Market Report 15.2.23

Is it still possible to conclude long-term contracts?

The third week with stable/increasing prices.

Prices were stable/rising again this week. The added value of skim milk powder and butter is still below the one of Gouda, this means that the pressure on Gouda is still strong.

After the strong increase in butter last week, I expected somewhat weaker prices this week. The opposite happened; milk fat continued to rise; newest rumours tell us that the prices came down slightly by the end of the week.

Customers are still waiting, and warehouses are empty. Waiting for prices in March, these will depend heavily on export demand. How this will develop will be seen at the Next GDT auction. Now the outlook for this auction is rather negative.

The feedback we receive is also not clear. The prices of the semi-hard cheeses are clearly increasing, but Cagliata became partially cheaper by 0.10 €.

We see a new incomprehensible trend! There is fat-reduced cagliata (15% Fat in dry matter) being produced in Europe and sold far below the production value. For this reason, we have newly introduced the effective cost of these cagliata in our table, to show you that this can’t be sustainable.

To the question:

Is it still possible to sign long-term contracts? It gives both partners security and although prices have been stable for 3 weeks I would still say the probability that prices will rise is about 50%.

Regards, Affineur Walo von Mühlenen

Our market report is issued monthly, when the markets are very unsettled, we increase the frequency (now weekly on Monday.)

Presentation Walo von Mühlenen AG

Walo von Mühlenen AG produces cheese for the processing industry and specialty cheeses:

1. the cheeses for the processing industry are created especially for our customers. Each customer has its own special recipe that we develop together with our technicians. It includes cheese for grating, cagliata for mozzarella production, cheese for ready meals, mozzarella with buffalo milk, grilled cheese with buffalo milk and many more.

Do you need a special cheese? Call us!

2. Our specialty range includes 2 different assortments of Flower Meadow cheeses made with natural raw milk. These are unique cheeses with a natural and complex flavor. These cheeses can be found in well-stocked cheese counters.

Do you need a special cheese for your cheese counter, do you want your cheese counter to gain profile. Then give us a call!

The two assortments are:

A) Affineur Walo, under this name we market the cheeses for the connoisseur who is looking for the extraordinary. These are cheeses made according to the recipes of the von Mühlenen family. The von Mühlenen family founded their first store in Bern in 1867 and since then they have remained faithful to Swiss raw milk cheeses. The family's cheeses have won countless awards, they have been world champions several times and continue to win awards regularly.

B) l'Antoine the cheese artist, under this name we market the cheeses for the connoisseur who seeks the original. These cheeses are made according to the 17th century recipes of Antoine the Cheese Artist. Antoine was a shepherd and cheese maker who lived in the Gruyère region in the canton of Fribourg and created many cheese recipes. A few years ago, Affineur Walo discovered these recipes and revived the old tradition. Already the first cheeses of Antoine have inspired international jury and have already received many awards. Thus, the raclette cheese received the award "best innovation of the year 2022" and it was also immediately chosen as the "best raclette in the world".

What is the label Swiss “Flower meadow cheese” mean?

Swiss Flower Meadow-cheeses are unique and one-of-a-kind products that bring the taste of nature directly to the tongue of every cheese lover. Their flavours are characterized by the natural raw milk, which guarantees that the diversity of the flower meadows is preserved, remains, and takes them into the world of nature.

The complex aroma of Flower Meadow cheese is clearly different from industrially produced cheeses. The secret of the aromatic taste of the Flower Meadow Cheese lies in the flower meadows, in the careful processing of the raw milk, in the craftsmanship of the cheesemaker and the knowledge of the affineur.

The milk is not bactofugated or ultrafiltrated