Dairy product prices advance for fifth straight auction

Wednesday 17th May 2017

Dairy product prices rose at the Global Dairy Trade auction, increasing for the fifth consecutive time, amid solid demand for fat products.

The GDT price index gained 3.2 percent from the previous auction two weeks ago to US$3,313. Some 21,236 tonnes of product was sold, down from 22,633 tonnes at the previous auction.

Whole milk powder rose 1.3 percent to US$3,312 a tonne.

Butter jumped 11.2 percent to US$5,479 a tonne, while anhydrous milk fat rallied 8.2 percent to US$6,631 a tonne.

“The milk-fat products were the star performers,” AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby said in a note. “Butter and anhydrous milk fat prices have generally been trending up all season and show no signs of slowing down.”

“Strong demand for milk fat is attributed to many consumers in developed nations eating more natural foods rather than artificial or processed foods,” according to Kilsby.

Butter milk powder climbed 7 percent to US$1,980 a tonne.

“The world remains very short of milk fat products and New Zealand is the largest supplier of globally traded butter and anhydrous milk fat,” said Kilsby. “As we head towards the end of our milk production season the volume of product that is available for sale falls away which is supportive of prices.”

Lactose added 2 percent to US$967 a tonne, skim milk powder gained 1 percent to US$1,998 a tonne, while cheddar rose 0.6 percent to US$3,726 a tonne.

Meanwhile, rennet casein fell 3.7 percent to US$6,259 a tonne.

The New Zealand dollar last traded at 68.83 US cents at 1.29pm in New York, compared with 68.81 US cents at 5pm in Wellington the previous day.

There were 103 winning bidders out of 164 participating at the 19-round auction. The number of qualified bidders rose to 553, up from 548 at the previous auction.

(BusinessDesk)

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