Further downward pressure on global dairy prices
Prices have plummeted in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 3.9 per cent decline across the board.
It is the third significant drop in a row, with the index falling 4.6 per cent on October 18 and 3.5 per cent on October 4.
Whole milk powder, which peaked in March at US$4757/MT, dipped 3.4 per cent to an average US$3279/MT – nearly US$300 less than two weeks ago.
Skim milk powder – Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – dropped 8.5 per cent and over US$500/MT from two weeks ago, to an average US$2972/MT.
Anhydrous milk fat fell 1.7 per cent with an average of US$5562/MT.
Cheddar bucked the trend with a 0.9 per cent increase, to an average US$4802/MT.
Similarly, butter rose a slight 0.2 per cent to an average US$4868/MT.
8,867 MT of product was purchased by 116 successful bidders, compared to 26,106 MT and 125 winning bidders last time.
In September, Fonterra left its forecast for 2022/23 unchanged – a farmgate milk price range of $8.50–$10.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $9.25.
Its forecast 2022/23 normalised earnings guidance is in a range of 45 to 60 cents.
