After hitting a low of 36 cents on April 12 and April 15, the whey powder market has picked up. The CME spot dry whey price has climbed to 48 cents per pound, the highest price since late February.
“Domestic demand for high-protein whey products has given a sizable boost to dairy protein values, and processors have directed much of the whey stream into high-protein concentrates,” said Sarina Sharp, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report.
According to data from USDA, production of whey protein concentrate (WPC) that contains 50% to 89.9% protein, hit an all-time high in 2023. In the first four months of this year, output of both WPC with 50% to 89.9% protein and whey protein isolates (WPI), which contain at least 90% protein, climbed to even higher highs, up 9.7% and 9.6%, respectively, from the first four months of 2023.
WPC and WPI are used as ingredients in infant formula, sports drinks, and nutrition shakes that are high in protein, whereas lower-protein whey powder is used as animal feed or in human food products, such as baked goods, chocolate and other candies, fortified dairy products, ice cream, infant formula, and clinical nutrition products.
“Increasing output of WPC and WPI, however, has not been enough to push whey powder production below early-2023’s already depressed volumes,” Sharp said. “The combination of modestly higher output and slower exports pushed whey powder prices to six-month lows in mid-April.”
Output of whey powder for the January through April period was up 1.9% from the prior year. More recently, however, dry whey production has slowed. “Plant downtime and the use of whey solids for higher protein concentrates has kept dry whey availability in check,” wrote USDA’s Dairy Market News in a recent report.
“Tighter whey powder inventories have propelled spot whey prices up an impressive 30%, or 11 cents, in less than two months,” Sharp noted. “While most of the drama in the Class III space has occurred in cheese markets, whey has played an important supporting role. Its two-month rally has boosted Class III values by 66 cents.”
