Our survey results this week show end of October monthly milk supplies are down between 3% to 11% compared to the same month last year. In west Cork and Kerry, supplies are down between 7% and 10% on the same period last year, similar to the September result. Along the west coast, Kerry Group report supplies are back 10% for the month of October compared to October 2015, while Aurivo is back 11% and LacPatrick back 11%. Dairygold supplies are back 5%.

In west Cork, Lisavaird is back about 5%, while Drinagh is back 7% and Barryroe 6% relative to the same month last year. This national supply reduction comes in advance of the first EU period for reducing supplies which runs from November to January.

Dutch lift price as GDT soars

Dutch dairy giant FrieslandCampina has increased its November milk price by 4c/l, while in New Zealand, milk collections are falling due to the wet spring season.

The GDT index surged 11.4% this week at the latest dairy auction in New Zealand. The increase was primarily driven by a spike in whole milk powder (WMP) prices, which jumped almost 20% during Tuesday’s auction to $3,320/t.

WMP prices are now at their highest levels since July 2014, as tightening supplies force prices upwards.

New Zealand is the largest exporter of WMP, accounting for about 50% of all WMP product traded in global markets. Recent noises on declining milk collections from the country’s largest dairy processor, Fonterra, have helped to push up milk powder prices on the global market.

Fonterra has reported a sharp fall-off in milk volumes collected, particularly on the North Island, due to the wetter than normal spring the country is currently experiencing.

In the important Waikato region of New Zealand, Fonterra says milk collections are back 14% in October compared to last year.

As a result, the dairy giant has slashed its forecast supply of WMP by over 10,000t for futures GDT auctions. This week’s GDT auction saw Fonterra reduce its WMP offering by more than 18% to 14,600t compared to the last auction.

Closer to home, the Netherlands dairy giant FrieslandCampina has raised its milk price for November to €33/100kg (34c/l). This is an increase of almost 4c/l compared to the October milk price, which Friesland says is as a result of improved prices for butter and cheese.