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Q4 somewhat mirroring first COVID wave

A dairy analyst says dairy demand during the fourth quarter has become similar to the second quarter as another coronavirus wave keeps people home.

Ben Laine with Rabo AgriFinance tells Brownfield the spike in COVID-19 cases and the onset of winter leaves a lot of unknowns for consumer demand.

“We’re not reacting quite the same way, we still have a lot of the delivery going, curbside pickup and a lot of those options are still helping us through this a lot better than the initial wave.  But, I think we’re starting to see some concern as we go into the winter, ‘Is demand going to start to slow down?’”

Laine says access to vaccines are encouraging in the new year for improved demand, but if 2020 has taught the industry anything, it’s “to expect the unexpected,” he says.

Laine says increased feed costs are likely to keep milk production growth modest globally and expects continued demand from China in 2021 as that country rebuilds its hog herd from African Swine Fever.