Dairy product prices edge higher, butter continues its climb
Butter outshone other commodities once again this auction.
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Hawke’s Bay
Dairy product prices rose at the Global Dairy Trade auction, gaining for the first time in three auctions, with butter outpacing the other commodities amid strong consumer appetite for natural, full-fat products.
The GDT price index rose 0.2% from the previous auction two weeks ago to $US3387. Some 26,688 tonnes of product was sold, down from 28,574 tonnes at the previous auction.
Whole milk powder advanced 0.3% to $US3114 a tonne.
"Whole milk powder prices are expected to stick close to current levels for most of the season," AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby says.
At the latest GDT auction, butter rose 3.4% to $US6004 a tonne.
"Butter outshone other commodities once again this auction," Ms Kilsby says. "Strong consumer demand for natural, full-fat products such as butter is here to stay."
"This strong demand along with limited supply is keeping buyers of dairy commodities paying current high prices although they aren't necessarily happy about paying so much for it," according to Ms Kilsby.
"Fonterra will offer less butter on GDT this year because of strong demand from other sales channels.” Fonterra's forecast for butter offer volumes over the next 12 months is 15% behind what it offered last year.
Rennet casein gained 2.4% to $US6358 tonne, while cheddar rose 1.6% to $US4112 a tonne.
Meanwhile, skim milk powder dropped 3.2% to $US2024 a tonne, while lactose fell 1.8% to $US825 a tonne, and anhydrous milk fat slipped 0.2% to $US6577 a tonne.
Butter milk powder was not offered at this event.
The New Zealand dollar last traded at 73.56USc at 2.19pm in New York, compared with 73.18USc at 5pm in Wellington the previous day.
There were 115 winning bidders out of 160 participating at the 17-round auction. The number of qualified bidders rose to 525, up from 523 at the previous auction.
(BusinessDesk)
Margreet Dietz
Wed, 19 Jul 2017
Wed, 19 Jul 2017
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Dairy product prices edge higher, butter continues its climb
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