This is a subscriber-only article
Some 4,000t of skimmed milk powder (SMP) has been sold out of intervention by the European Commission.
The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the SMP sold for €1,050/t, which marked a drop in price from a previous sale of SMP out of intervention in February for €1,100/t.
No stock was bought in, and EU intervention stock buying of SMP has ceased in a bid to “stabilise the dairy markets in 2018.”
Both prices still remain significantly lower than the previous EU intervention price of €1,698.
Market impact
Roughly 370,000t of SMP sitting in EU intervention continue to create a market overhang, with Joe Collins, managing director of Ornua’s dairy trading and ingredients division, recently describing the dairy powder markets as “very ill.”
“What skim powder markets need is for the European Commission to do a controlled sales deal with a big feed buyer,” said Collins.
This week, the price for SMP dropped by 9% at Tuesday’s GCT auction in New Zealand, with prices falling below $1,890/t (€1,540/t).
This had a knock-on effect for the overall GDT index which dropped by 1.2%, its third consecutive decline since late February.
Skimmed powder prices plunge at GDT
Restrictions on SMP intervention only for 'short-term' – Creed
SHARING OPTIONS: