Status: 02/01/2023 12:19 p.m
As of today, butter is cheaper again in many German retail chains. In addition to the discounters Aldi and Norma, Kaufland also reduced prices. The reason for this is lower raw material prices.
Butter prices in Germany are falling. The discounters Aldi and Norma, but also the grocery store Kaufland, lowered the prices for the 250-gram pack of branded butter in the entry-level price range: from 1.99 to 1.59 euros. Germany’s largest food retailer, Edeka, has already announced that it will reduce the price of its “Good & Cheap” butter by the same amount. Rewe also wants to follow the step, as do the discounters Netto and Penny.
These are not special offers, but the normal price. At the peak of the price wave in May, a pack of butter cost 2.29 euros. Butter from brand manufacturers has also become cheaper in many cases.
It should only be a matter of time before the rest of the trade follows the price reduction of the pioneers by around 20 percent. Because butter is considered a so-called basic price item, which customers use to orientate themselves when they perceive the price of a retailer.
Negotiations in the industry push the price down
The fact that prices are currently falling has to do with the rhythm of price negotiations in the dairy industry. The old contracts expired at the end of January, and in the new contracts the dealers were able to agree on significantly lower prices, which make the current price reductions possible.
Among other things, this is due to the fact that raw milk production in Germany has increased noticeably again after the record prices achieved for milk last year, said the general manager of the dairy industry association, Eckhard Heuser, of the dpa news agency. As a result, there was again a slight oversupply and prices came under pressure. The new contracts have a term of four weeks. However, industry experts do not anticipate repeated price increases after the term has expired.