Demand and prices for whey have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic because the public is more concerned about health and nutrition, reports CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange.
Despite record cheese production in the United States., global supplies of whey products remain tight which has resulted in significant price premiums for high-protein whey products, CoBank reports.
Some of the demand is for fractionated whey protein products, but there is also strong demand for regular whey.
CoBank predicts demand will continue to increase for further-processed whey ranging from dry powder to fractionated whey.
Only large cheese producers are likely to supply these products because the further-processing equipment is expensive, it said.
Whey prices are expected to persist at historically strong levels until new cheese and whey processing capacity comes online over the next five years, it said.
