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.
On the eve of Fonterra revising its farmgate milk price, the overnight Global Dairy Trade auction (GDT) offered farmers some good news.
However, the 2.2% rise in GDT price index won’t be enough to prevent another downward revision of the farm gate milk price.
Fonterra is expected to revise the farm gate milk price, currently sitting at a range of $6.25/kgMS to $6.50/kgMS.
Whole milk powder price rose 2.5% to US$2,667/MT but still below the US$3000/MT threshold. The US$3000/MT is generally regarded as the break-even point for farmers, although adverse currency movements can hinder beneficial price movements.
Key results
AMF index up 3.9%, average price US$4,755/MT
Butter index up 2.7%, average price US$3,745/MT
BMP index up 16.9%, average price US$2,973/MT
Ched index down 2.2%, average price US$3,184/MT
LAC index up 0.5%, average price US$918/MT
RenCas index up 2.0%, average price US$5,167/MT
SMP index up 0.3%, average price US$1,970/MT
SWP index not available, average price not available
WMP index up 2.5%, average price US$2,667/MT
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