All that glitters

The gleam of gold promised from powder production may be not be as bright as was previously predicted. Irish dairy giant Glanbia is temporarily closing its powder plant in Belview, Ireland, and will be channelling the milk into butter and cheese production instead, citing poor returns from the market for powders. This seems to point that pouring all the energy into powder production at the expense of more traditional dairy products may not be the end-all and be-all for dairy output. As butter starts its comeback in people’s diets, the decisions to move away from it now look short-sighted.

Like any new market, there are upsides and downsides to powder – it travels well, and is very useful, but the demand for it has to be there. Some months of Chinese reluctance, and suddenly the powder market is not what it was.

We are discovering that companies and co-operatives that lean too heavily on one aspect of the market are getting their fingers burnt, it seems. That’s a lesson Glanbia is learning, at least in Ireland. It isn’t the first and will not be the last.