GDT: Another lift in dairy prices with 1.2% increase across the board

Dairy prices lift again despite a mixed result at the latest auction.

Prices have continued to lift in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 1.2% increase across the board.

This follows a 1.9% climb at the previous event two weeks ago, and an impressive 4.8% jump a fortnight before that.

Whole milk powder — the biggest influence on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price — recorded a solid 4.1% lift, to an average of US$3984/MT.

This continues the product’s upward trajectory, rising 3.2% at the previous auction, and 4.4% before that.

While this was good news for farmers, the rest of the auction proved to be a mixed bag.

Skim milk powder — Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product — dropped 1.0%, to an average of US$2848/MT.

Lactose recorded the largest increase — up a whopping 7.7%, to an average of US$910/MT. This product was not available at the previous event.

Then it was all downhill from there.

Anhydrous milk fat dipped 0.5% to an average of US$7583/MT after a 1.0% bump last time, and butter milk powder dropped 2.6% to an average of US$3152/MT.

Cheddar was down 3.2% to an average of US$4689/MT. This follows a 3.1% drop from the previous event.

However, the biggest percentage fall came from butter, which slumped 5.2% to an average of US$6680/MT.

A total of 33,630 MT of product was purchased by 125 successful bidders, compared to 36,244 MT and 106 winning bidders last time.

Mozzarella continued its downward slide, sinking 4.5% to an average of US$4120/MT, after tanking 6.6% at the last auction.

On November 11, Fonterra raised and narrowed its farmgate milk price forecast for the 2024/25 season, to between $9.00 and $10.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $9.50 per kgMS.

This follows from September 25, when Fonterra’s farmgate milk price forecast was between $8.25/kgMS and $9.75/kgMS, with a midpoint of $9/kgMS.

The final farmgate milk price for the 2023-2024 season was $7.83/kgMS milk solids.