Middle East demand cushions global dairy price drop at latest GDT auction
The upheaval in the Middle East may have eased the fall in global dairy prices last week.
Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold says last week's Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction went much better than feared.
Futures market pricing had suggested price falls in the 4-5% range after the last disastrous auction a fortnight ago. The market was thus rightly on edge, notes Eckhold.
"Overall prices rose slightly driven by a strong performance from the 'Fats' - Anhydrous Milk Fat 4%, Cheddar 6.2%, Butter 0.8%) while the 'Powders' fell - albeit by less than feared (Whole Milk Powder -1.6%, Skim Milk Powder -1.1%)," he says.
"We didn't see much of interest in the pattern of buyers - Middle Eastern buyers were better supporters of the auction this time. Chinese demand looks stable.
"Our forecast for the 2024-25 milk price remains unchanged at $8.40 with balanced risks. Of key interest will be the impact of weak Chinese economic growth, which recent data confirms is still travelling below trend, driven by a still weak consumer. That's not great news for soft commodities."
Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…