Milk Powder Prices Prop Up Farmgate Milk Price
Milk powder prices are keeping farmgate prices up, helping processors offset the dip in milk fat prices.
It is the ninth consecutive fall this year and takes the index to its lowest point in 6 years.
Whole Milk Powder (WMP), a key product for Fonterra, dropped 13.1% with an average price of US$1,848/MT. This is the biggest fall for WMP in 12 months. Cheddar also fell sharply, down 13.9%, to US$2,613/MT.
Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF) and Skim Milk Powder (SMP) saw significant falls, with AMF down 10.6%, to an average price of US$2,621/MT and SMP down 10.1%, to US$1,702/MT.
Butter fell 9.5%, with an average price of US$2,460/MT, while Rennet Casein was down 8.0%, to US$5,430/MT.
Butter Milk Powder also fell 4.4%, to US$1,794/MT.
Lactose saw the night’s only gain, rising 1.9%, with an average price of US$549/MT.
Some 31,691 tonnes of product was traded at the auction.
