Export prices set to remain elevated
Horticultural prices are set to remain elevated this year, reflecting the balance between demand in key export markets and an increase in supply.
Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction prices were largely unchanged last week.
Overall prices were down 0.1%, while key whole milk powder (WMP) prices were up 0.1%.
Looking at January as a whole, dairy prices have started 2023 on a soft note.
Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny nots that cumulatively over the month, overall and WMP prices have fallen 2.8% and 1.2% respectively.
"By product, most price movements were also small," he says.
"Of the five products we monitor, four products posted price changes of less than 1% either way.
"The outlier was cheddar, which saw a 4% price lift overnight. This result was largely in line with futures market expectations."
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