GDT: Dairy prices lift 1.8 per cent and cheddar bounces back

Prices have risen slightly in the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction held overnight, with a 1.8 per cent increase across the board.

This is after a modest 0.1 per cent bump in the last event, held on April 16.

Whole milk powder, which has the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price, recorded a solid 2.4 per cent lift, to an average of US$3350/MT.

Skim milk powder, Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product, gained slightly with a 0.4 per cent increase, to an average of US$2551/MT.

Cheddar was the standout at this auction, with a whopping 8 per cent rise to an average of US$4257/MT. This follows an 8.5 per cent plunge in the previous event.

Butter gained a 2.1 per cent boost to an average of US$6593/MT, and anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was up 1.2 per cent to an average of US$7124/MT.

This is the highest value recorded so far by AMF on the GDT platform.

Buttermilk powder, which was not available at the previous auction, returned with a 1.7 per cent rise to an average of US$2545/MT.

Mozzarella gained some ground from April’s event where it fell 3.8 per cent, this time rising a respectable 2.3 per cent to an average of US$3840/MT.

Lactose bucked the positive trend, dropping 1.3 per cent to an average of US$739/MT.

A total of 19,231MT of product was purchased by 109 successful bidders, compared with 17,654 MT and 105 winning bidders last time.

On March 21, Fonterra narrowed its forecast farmgate milk price range to $7.50-$8.10 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $7.80.

This means the midpoint remains unchanged from the co-op’s previous milk price announcement on February 12, when the range was $7.30-$8.30/kgMS.

This followed downgrades on December 7 to $7-$8/kgMS, with a midpoint of $7.50, and October 9 to $6.50-$8/kgMS, with a midpoint of $7.25.