Global Dairy Trade prices drop for ninth straight auction, WMP down 5.7%

Whole milk powder, key to Fonterra payouts, slumped 5.7% in the latest sale.

Prices fell again in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with the GDT Price Index dropping 4.4% across the board, in the final event for the calendar year.

This is the ninth consecutive decline for the auction, following a 4.3% decrease two weeks ago.

The last time prices increased was at the beginning of August, with a 0.7% increase across the board.

Whole milk powder – which has the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price – plunged 5.7%, to an average of US$3161/MT.

Skim milk powder – Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – slipped 2.1%, to an average of US$2431/MT.

Anhydrous milk fat dropped 5.2% to an average of US$5602/MT, and butter dipped 2.5% to an average of US$5012/MT.

Cheddar remained unchanged at US$4646/MT.

On the positive side, mozzarella jumped 6.7% to an average of US$3395/MT.

The largest increase was lactose, which leapt 14.4% to an average of US$1430/MT.

Butter milk powder was not available at this event.

33,974 MT of product was purchased by 120 successful bidders, compared to 34,282 MT and 117 winning bidders last time.

On November 25, Fonterra narrowed its 2025/26 farmgate milk price forecast to a range of $9.00 - $10.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $9.50 per kgMS.

The co-op’s opening forecast on May 29 was $10.00 per kgMS, with a wide range of $8.00 - $11.00 per kgMS, but was narrowed to $9.00 - $11.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $10.00 per kgMS, on August 21.

Fonterra paid $10.16 per kgMS for the 2024/25 season.