Bremworth board to call special meeting
Listed carpet maker Bremworth says it’s preparing to call a special meeting requested by a group of disgruntled shareholders.
The first Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction drew mixed results, with drop in powder prices and lift in butter and cheeses.
The GDT price index eased 1.4% to an average price of US$4,029/t. Whole milk powder prices dropped 2.1% to US$3804/t and skim milk powder eased 2.2% to US$2682/t.
NZX dairy analyst Rosalind Crickett says the index movement was weighed down by decreases seen to the milk powder products, despite lifts to butter and cheese products – with results spot on with their pre-event expectations.
“In what normally is a quieter start to the year, 87% of product on offer was still sold, but saw weaker demand from both North Asia and the Southeast Asia/Oceania regions.”
Crickett says that despite there being -15.7% less WMP and -15% less SMP on offer since the last event, traders have been describing a “hand to mouth” purchasing pattern by regions over the holiday period.
She notes that recent Chinese inventory data showed a 25% year-on-year (YoY) increase in November WMP imports, as the country restocked with continuing weak domestic milk production a key factor. The recent buying activity by North Asia has also seen month-on-month (MoM) ending stocks for SMP up 33%.
Despite an increase in NZ milk fat product availability on the GDT platform due to the Cream Group Flex, there were mixed
results across anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and butter. With US and EU also reporting ample cream supplies there was seemingly little effect on the 2.6% lift in butter prices.
Interestingly both cheese products have rebounded in price after three consecutive declines, with traders expecting price support with cheese volumes tapering off in the latter part of the season, she says.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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