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Last week’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw an increase in Chinese demand for skim milk powder.
Is China's appetite for dairy back on the rise?
Last week's Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw an increase in Chinese demand for skim milk powder.
Westpac's Kelly Eckhold says this was interesting given weaker demand from China in hard commodities and oil.
"Chinese demand increased again - especially for skim milk powder. This is interesting given the generally weak economic data seen of late and weaker demand from China in hard commodities and oil. Westpac reduced its Chinese growth forecast for 2025 and 2026 this month to 4.5% for each year," says Eckhold.
He says conditions in the dairy sector continue to look positive.
"It remains to be seen how durable the recovery is given the uncertainties on Chinese growth and demand. However, interest rates are now falling which will further assist on-farm costs going forward," he says.
NZX dairy analyst Rosalind Crickett notes that whole milk powder (WMP) rose 1.5% to settle at US$3,448/t. Skim milk powder (SMP) also rose 2.2% to reach US$2,809/t, its highest average price on the platform in the last 12-months.
"Factoring market sentiment, the increased demand for both milk powders is not surprising - given the off-peak of milk production in the Northern Hemisphere combined with factors such as the bluetongue virus which has been increasing in prominence in both the UK and Europe."
Fonterra will announce its annual results this week and is expected to give an update on its forecast milk price for the season, currently at a mid-point of $8.50/kgMS.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact that, now more than ever, US farmers are being propped up by government welfare – a direct result of Trump’s hardline on its trading partners.
A $10 milk price remains on the cards for this season despite recent softening of global dairy prices.
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
Strong global milk production and rebalancing of demand among key buyers has delivered one of the biggest drops in whole milk powder prices in recent years.
The Commerce Commission has announced that it has filed proceedings against Westpac New Zealand.
BNZ says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through an innovative new initiative that helps make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking a little easier.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Lincoln University Dairy Farm will be tweaking some management practices after an animal welfare complaint laid in mid-August, despite the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigation into the complaint finding no cause for action.
A large slice of the $3.2 billion proposed capital return for Fonterra farmer shareholders could end up with the banks.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
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