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DAIRY COMMODITY prices dipped overnight on Fonterra’s GlobalDairyTrade platform with the trade weighted index of all commodities down 1.6%.
The dip follows two successive upticks in prices at the November 15 and December 6 auctions.
Skimmed milk powder was down 3.2% at US$3,312/t and whole milk powder (WMP) back 1.5% at US$3,589/t. Anhydrous milk fat bucked the trend, lifting 4.8% to average US$4,183/t across the three positions offered, with sales for June-August up 11.8%.
The easier market overall comes amid suggestions demand from China is waning.
Earlier this week UK-based Agrimoney reported that USDA officials in Beijing had slashed predicted WMP demand from China, by far the biggest importer, by 75,000t to 375,000t.
Higher prices had put imported WMP out of reach of smaller Chinese processors who are turning increasingly to domestic supplies, despite continued safety concerns, said the USDA.
Meanwhile Rabobank, releasing its quarterly dairy report yesterday, predicted “abundant” supply through early 2012, as the Southern Hemisphere clears a strong production season and Northern Hemisphere production continues to outpace demand.
Stocks may start to build, increasing pressure to sell, and the market may struggle to digest supply the first quarter of 2012, “bringing the prospect of a return to a modest downward trend in pricing,” said the bank.
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Carey Pawson-Edwards, a South Canterbury stock manager, has been named the winner of the 2026 Rabobank Management Project Award.
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds caution that the sector must be intentional about its future path.
Rabobank has celebrated the tenth anniversary of its AgPathways Programme, with 23 farmers from Otago and Southland gathering for two-and-a-half days to learn new business management and planning skills.
Rabobank launched its Good Deeds Competition back in 2017 with the aim of supporting and celebrating the incredible efforts of rural communities in enhancing their local areas.
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