The latest global dairy auction showed prices broadly unchanged overall. The index has now risen for a second consecutive auction, after cheddar staged a sharp recovery from a marked fall in July.

The price index on the global dairy auction platform GDT (Global Dairy Trade) rose by 0.1 per cent at the auction on 4 August, with the average price settling at €3,275 per tonne.

Cheddar posted the largest increase of any product at the auction, up 3.8 per cent to an average price of €3,227 per tonne. That marks a significant reversal from the previous auction on 21 July, when cheddar fell 6.5 per cent to €3,138 per tonne. Lactose traded 4.1 per cent higher at €1,543 per tonne, against a 2.0 per cent rise to €1,506 per tonne on 21 July.

The powder market also showed gains: skim milk powder rose 1.2 per cent to €2,827 per tonne, mozzarella rose 1.0 per cent to €3,461 per tonne, and whole milk powder edged up 0.2 per cent to €3,019 per tonne.

Falls in butter and milk fat
Butter was the only product to post a marked decline, falling 2.3 per cent to an average price of €4,530 per tonne. This was the second consecutive auction of falling butter prices, following a 0.6 per cent drop on 21 July. Buttermilk powder fell 2.8 per cent to €3,438 per tonne, having risen 10.5 per cent at the previous auction. Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) fell 0.8 per cent to €5,520 per tonne, against a 1.1 per cent rise on 21 July.

Stabilising after summer declines
The past two auctions’ modest increases – 1.5 per cent on 21 July and 0.1 per cent on 4 August – follow three consecutive auctions over the summer with clear falls in the index: down 0.6 per cent on 2 June, 2.8 per cent on 16 June, and 4.9 per cent on 7 July.

Denmark has also seen a modest uptick. Danish dairy cooperative Arla has raised its payout price for conventional milk twice over the past two months, with a further increase reflected in its current advance price.

The auction had 132 winning bidders out of 170 participating bidders, with 40,504 tonnes sold across 16 bidding rounds.

By Maja Løvstrup
Graph: Global Dairy Trade