MARKETS
Chocolate milk and cream gains C
hocolate milk and fluid cream have posted solid year-overyear volume gains in P5 retail sales, according to the most recent figures available from AC Nielsen. Over the 52-week period ending March 10, chocolate milk sales volume was up 3.5 per cent and fluid cream up 3.6 per cent. For chocolate milk, the year-overyear increase comes despite a steep slide during the four-week period ending March 10. Sales volume in the pool dropped 14.6 per cent, mostly due to Ontario results coming in lower by 26 per cent. However, Quebec was up 21.1 per cent while the Maritimes was virtually unchanged at minus 0.3 per cent. Analysis of the Ontario numbers suggests higher prices in some key sales channels contributed to the decline. In Quebec, meanwhile, a 34.8 per cent price drop at general mer-
chandiser and warehouse-type outlets spurred a whopping 420 per cent volume increase in these channels during the four weeks ending March 10. Cream sales volume in the P5 pool increased for the four- and 12-week periods ending March 10 as well as for the year. The upward trend was evident pool-wide. Retail channels make up 31 per cent of fluid cream sales with foodservice accounting for 69 per cent.
P5 and Western Milk Pool blend prices*
The graph below shows the 12-month blend price for the P5 provinces and the Western Milk Pool (WMP).
*There is a two-month lag reporting these figures.
Solids non-fat to butterfat (SNF-BF) ratio
This graph shows Ontario’s SNF-BF ratio for the last 12 months in relation to Ontario’s target SNF-BF ratio of 2.2840.
80 78 Blend price in $/hL 76 74 72 70 WMP $77.64 P5 $75.67
2.45 2.4 SNF-BF Ratio 2.35 2.3 2.25 2.2 2.15 2.2903
Apr 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 Aug 2011 Sep 2011 Oct 2011 Nov 2011 Dec 2011 Jan 2012 Feb 2012 Mar 2012
P5 blend price WMP blend price
Ontario’s SNF-BF ratio Target SNF-BF ratio
44 | May 2012 | MilkPRODUCER
Apr 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 Aug 2011 Sep 2011 Oct 2011 Nov 2011 Dec 2011 Jan 2012 Feb 2012 Mar 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - May 2012