GDT: Dairy prices lift 3.7%, whole milk powder rises 4.1%

There was more good news for farmers in the third Global Dairy Trade Auction of the calendar year. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Prices continue to climb in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 3.7% increase across the board.

This follows a 1.4% lift from the previous auction two weeks ago.

Farmers will be pleased to note that whole milk powder - with the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price - recorded a healthy 4.1% jump, to an average of US$4169/MT.

Whole milk powder is having a stellar run, as it recorded a 5% lift at the last event.

Skim milk powder - Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – rose 4.7%, to an average of US$2835/MT, another positive to build on its 2.0% bump last time.

Cheddar was up 3.7%, to an average of US$5025/MT, with butter not far behind on a 3.4% boost to an average of US$7222/MT.

Anhydrous milk fat also lifted - up 2.4% to an average of US$6766/MT.

Rounding out the positive results in impressive fashion was lactose, leaping a whopping 17.7% to an average of US$1050/MT.

On the negative side, butter milk powder dropped 0.4% to an average of US$3092/MT, and mozzarella dipped 0.1% to an average of US$4157/MT.

There was 23,854/MT of product purchased by 102 successful bidders, compared to 27,785/MT and 129 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.