Dairy product prices fell 1.4% at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction which took place earlier today, May 3.

At the last auction on April 19, prices rose 3.8% with whole milk powder (WMP) rising 7.5%.

At this week’s auction, only three products posted increases in prices – cheddar (+1.8%), rennet casein (+3.5%) and whole milk powder (+0.7%).

The butter index was down 5.5% as was the butter milk powder index by the same percentage. The skimmed milk powder index was down 3.6%.

Earlier this week, New Zealand bank ASB suggested that the auction could post a rise and hinted that whole milk powder (WMP) could rise between 3-5%, however this was not the case following today’s auction.

Key Results

  • AMF index down 1.6%, average price US$3,195/MT.
  • Butter index down 5.5%, average price US$2,601/MT.
  • BMP index down 5.5%, average price US$1,366/MT.
  • Ched index up 1.8%, average price US$2,727/MT.
  • LAC index down 2.7%, average price US$693/MT.
  • RenCas index up 3.5%, average price US$5,024/MT.
  • SMP index down 3.6%, average price US$1,676/MT.
  • WMP index up 0.7%, average price US$2,176/MT.

Global Dairy Trade

Global milk production up 3.4% in January-February

Global milk production increased by 3.4% in January-February 2016, mainly due to strong production growth in the EU, it was revealed last week during the 14th meeting of the Milk Market Observatory’s (MMO) Economic Board.

EU milk collection was up by 5.2% in January-February, with percentage increases particularly strong in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Luxemburg and Belgium.

There was a 1.8% increase in US milk production in March, which was higher than expected, in light of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) growth forecast for 2016 of 1.5%.

New Zealand production was also higher than expected in February (up 2%), but it is expected to end up slightly down for the season.

Meanwhile, domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers in Ireland was estimated at 582.5m litres for March 2016, according to latest figures from the CSO.

This was 28.3% above the corresponding March 2015 figure which was the final month of the milk quota regime.

Comparing the March 2016 milk produce figures with those for March 2015 shows that total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 2.9% to 44.0m litres. Butter production was up 35.2% to 20,000t.