Fonterra Lifts Farmgate Milk Price
Good news for Fonterra farmers. The co-op has raised this season’s farmgate milk price mid-point by 25c to $9.75/kgMS.
Last week’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw whole milk powder price jump nearly 6% to US$3971/metric tonne, a 14-month high.
Skim milk powder price lifted 3% to US$4109/MT, its highest mark since June 2022.
Fonterra, which has a mid-point farmgate milk price of $9.75/kgMS, has lifted the upper end of its range to $10.50/kgMS.
With near-term demand for milk powders forecast to remain high, a $10 milk price is on the cards.
NZX dairy analyst Rosalind Crickett expects near-term demand for both milk powders is the strongest in the coming months and right ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.
While powder prices strengthen, milk fat prices are softening.
Crickett says the narrative behind continued milk fat declines remains the same: ample cream availability has caused a supply glut for both milk fat products, with butter shedding -4.7%, while anhydrous milk fat (AMF) declined -3.2%.
She adds that trade data shows plenty of AMF and butter products in circulation, with strong output growth out of Europe, the US, Argentina and NZ.
