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Last Tuesday’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) event saw a second consecutive rise for milk product prices. The GDT price index increased by 1.6%, which was primarily driven by buyers re-entering the market after adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach in the months prior.
The price of whole milk powder (WMP) rose 2.4% to $2,924/t, while lactose went up 2.2% to $927.
The Irish dairy industry has recently seen the resurgence of butter as a bright spot for farmers, with Ireland becoming the largest exporter of butter in the EU, however, the index for butter fell back by 1.6% at the last trade, halting the commodities’ recent good performances.
Skimmed milk powder (SMP) and cheddar also fell, recording decreases of 0.8% and 4.4%, respectively.
Last week, 472t of SMP was offered into EU intervention, with Poland accounting for all of the volume offered. This marks the first SMP to be offered into intervention since Germany and Latvia offered a combined 166t in mid-September.
In the futures markets, April, May and June contract prices for WMP have increased by 9% over the last week. As can be seen from the graph below, futures prices followed the GDT price index climb, to reach a six-week high.
The next GDT auction will take place on 18 April and next week’s futures prices will give a strong indication as to the direction of prices at the trade.
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