GDT: Dairy prices dip 0.6% in latest auction

All products except one slid into negative territory in the latest GDT auction. Photo / John Stone

Prices slipped in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 0.6% decrease across the board.

This follows a 3.7% increase two weeks ago, and a 1.4% lift the auction before that.

All products except one slid into negative territory, in the fourth auction of the calendar year.

Whole milk powder - which has the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price - dipped 0.2%, to an average of US$4153/MT.

This is after an impressive 4.1% jump two weeks ago, and a stellar 5% lift at the event before that.

Skim milk powder - Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – also dropped, down 2.5%, to an average of US$2754/MT - this rose 4.7% at the previous auction and 2.0% two weeks before.

Cheddar and lactose recorded the most negative result, both dropping 3.4% - cheddar to an average of US$4862/MT, and lactose to an average of US$1015/MT.

Anhydrous milk fat fell 0.8%, to an average of US$6723/MT and mozzarella dipped 0.1% to an average of US$4148/MT

The only positive result came from butter, up 2.2% to an average of US$7378/MT.

Butter milk powder was not available at this event.

There was 22,651 MT of product purchased by 120 successful bidders, compared to 23,854 MT and 102 winning bidders last time.

On December 5, Fonterra raised its farmgate milk price forecast for the 2024/25 season, to between $9.50 and $10.50 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $10.00 per kgMS.

This follows an earlier increase on November 11, when Fonterra’s farmgate milk price forecast lifted to a range of $9.00 and $10.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $9.50 per kgMS.

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