GDT: Dairy prices up 1.1%, cheddar drops 5.6% in latest event

Global Dairy Trade prices have rebounded 1.1% after four consecutive declines. Photo / Duncan Brown

Prices are up in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 1.1% increase across the board.

While it is a slight rise, it is welcome news after a 4.1% drop at the previous event two weeks ago, which was the largest decline this calendar year.

It also breaks a negative streak of four consecutive price drops.

Whole milk powder, which has the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price, lifted 1.7% to an average of US$3928/MT.

At the last event, it plunged 5.1%.

Skim milk powder - Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – rose 2.5%, to an average of US$2785/MT, after a 1.7% dip two weeks ago.

Anhydrous milk fat recorded a modest 0.8% increase to an average of US$6973/MT, and butter’s percentage didn’t shift, and had an average of US$7492/MT.

On the negative side, cheddar recorded the largest drop, down 5.6%, to an average of US$4589/MT.

Lactose, dipped 1.5% to an average of US$1355/MT, and mozzarella slipped 0.7% to an average of US$4760/MT.

Butter milk powder was not available at this event.

A total of 24,290 MT of product was purchased by 118 successful bidders, compared to 25,705 MT and 110 winning bidders last time.

On May 29, Fonterra announced an opening forecast farmgate milk price for the 2025/26 season of $10.00 per kgMS, with a wide forecast range of $8.00 - $11.00 per kgMS.

The forecast for the 2024/25 season was left unchanged at a range of between $9.70kgMS - $10.30kgMS -with a $10.00kgMS midpoint.