GDT: Dairy prices jump 4.8%, whole milk powder up 4.4%

Only one product moved negatively at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction.

Good news for farmers this morning as prices bounced back in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 4.8% increase across the board.

This is the largest rise since the sixth event of the season, on August 21, where prices leapt 5.5% and a welcome lift after a 0.3% dip in the last auction on October 16.

Whole milk powder — the biggest influencer on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price — had more good news for farmers, with a solid 4.4% lift, to an average of US$3713/MT.

Skim milk powder — Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product — rose 4.0%, to an average of US$2850/MT.

Cheddar was also up 4.0%, to an average of US$4973/MT.

Anhydrous milk jumped 4.6% to an average of US$7558/MT and butter milk powder rose 2.1% to an average of US$3238/MT.

Mozzarella had a modest boost of 0.9% to an average of US$4607/MT, a welcome return after an 8.2% crash in the previous event, and a 7.7% nosedive the one before that.

However, butter was the star of the show, with a whopping 8.3% increase to an average of US$6990/MT.

The only percentage fall came from lactose, which tanked 6.1% to an average of US$843/MT.

A total of 36,595 MT of product was purchased by 112 successful bidders, compared to 38,956 MT and 127 winning bidders last time.

This morning’s auction ran for over three hours.

Mike McIntyre, Head of Derivatives at Jarden, said auctions of this length typically pointed to some motivated buyers.

“[This] probably fits the narrative of those who had spent the earlier part of the season waiting for the increased production here in New Zealand to come to them.”

On September 25, Fonterra revised its farmgate milk price forecast for the 2024/25 season, to between $8.25/kgMS and $9.75/kgMS, with a midpoint of $9/kgMS.

This follows from August 23, when Fonterra’s farmgate milk price forecast was between $7.75/kgMS and $9.25/kgMS, with a midpoint of $8.50/kgMS.

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