The most recent Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction was up 2.2% on Tuesday, with important price lifts for whole milk powder (WMP) and butter.

Butter was up 8.4% to trade at $3,561/t and WMP was up 1.7% to trade at $3,041/t.

This latest result is good news for milk suppliers all over the world, as New Zealand milk supply cranks up at this time of the year.

As New Zealand plays an important part in export markets, a rising GDT helps market sentiment.

It also reinforces the previous auction result, which lifted 3.6% in mid-September.

Ornua PPI

The Ornua purchasing price index (PPI) was also up for September.

The PPI is 102.8 which when adjusted to include the Ornua value payment equals 30.4 c/l excluding VAT. This is up from 29.1c/l in August. The Ornua statement said the increase is as a result of a more favourable product mix, with generally stable returns across the product range.

All this will be music to the ears of Irish milk suppliers as boards meet over the coming days to set September milk prices.

Reaction

IFA dairy chair Tom Phelan has urged all milk processors to return a fair price to their suppliers, especially those that offered below-average prices last month.

The ICMSA’s Gerald Quain said that what he called the “slow-but-steady” return to normal trading conditions was continuing and the sharp uptake in butter and WMP is a positive development.