Butter prices have been rising and are now at record levels in the Czech Republic. Butter processors foresee a continuing rise before Christmas and into 2018.
Brno, Oct 31 (BD) – The demand for butter in the Czech Republic has been rising. Butter has become a “luxury product” for many. Yesterday at noon, Brno Municipal Police detained a man who stole two packages of butter for 119 CZK.
Michal Schlanger from Bidfood, the largest food distributor in the Czech Republic, told Czech online daily iDnes.cz, “Customers are not postponing their purchases and, on the contrary, are trying to make reserves, which strengthens demand and keeps butter prices up.”
Czech dairy producer Madeta records year-on-year double-digit demand for butter, Madeta director Milan Teplý told the Czech economics magazine E15 in September.
Teplý said that the price of cream is the biggest influence on the price of butter. The price of cream is 89 CZK per kilogram, which is more than double the year-on-year increase.
Development of prices of selected goods in the Czech Republic, 2016-2017. The prices are for: 1kg potatoes (green line), 1kg sugar (pink), 1l milk (blue), 1l beer (orange) and 250g butter (dark blue).The price of butter is currently lower than in the early 1990s, when compared to an average wage. On the other hand, butter is more expensive than, for example, in 2013, according to Czech Statistical Office data, Aleš Michl, a financial analyst from Quant company told Czech daily Lidové noviny.
Madeta’s director Teplý estimated that butter could cost up to 70 CZK for 250 grams before Christmas.
Madeta is the largest milk processor in the country. The company’s plants handle 1.5 million liters of milk per day, produce more than 240 kinds of products such as popular Niva cheese or “pomazánkové máslo.” Madeta exports its products to 15 countries.
