$10 milk price still on
Whole milk powder prices on Global Dairy Trade (GDT) remains above long run averages and a $10/kgMS milk price for the season remains on the card, says ASB senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown.
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.
The government has announced a major restructuring of the country's seven crown research institutes (CRIs), which will see them merged into three public research organisations (PROs).
Hamish and Rachel Hammond jumped at the chance to put their university learning into practice by taking up a contract milking offer right after graduation.
"We couldn't do this without our team. They are integral to everything." That's the first thing that Te Awamutu dairy farmers Jayson and Stacey Thompson have to say about their team.
OPINION: The Canadian government's love affair with its lifestyle dairy farmers has got it into trouble once again.
Volatile input costs, fluctuating commodity prices, a reduction in direct payments and one of the wettest periods in decades that resulted in a disastrous harvest, have left their mark and many UK farming businesses worse off.
European milk processors are eyeing more cheese and milk powder exports into South America following a landmark trade agreement signed last month.
OPINION: A keen pair of eyes wandering down the main street of the hub of the Horowhenua, Levin recently came…
OPINION: The demise of Organic Dairy Hub is official.