Strong production, tested demand send milk prices crashing
Strong global milk production and rebalancing of demand among key buyers has delivered one of the biggest drops in whole milk powder prices in recent years.
The co-op has narrowed the forecast farmgate milk price range - from $9.50-$10.50/kgMS to $9.70-$10.30/kgMS.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says they are seeing good demand for the co-op’s quality products.
“And our teams have worked hard to optimise our product portfolio to capture value from the market conditions, leaving us well contracted for the season.
“We have also optimised the current season’s Advance Rate Schedule to get cash to farmers sooner, underpinned by our balance sheet strength.”
In terms of milk flows, Fonterra’s forecast milk collections for the year are up 2.7% on this time last year to 1,510 million kgMS.
“This follows favourable pasture growth across most of New Zealand earlier in the season, noting many parts of the country are currently experiencing very dry conditions,” says Hurrell.
