Dairy product prices fall 2.2%, extending slide to fifth straight GDT auction
GDT average winning price fell 2.2% to $US2472 from $US2515 at the previous auction two weeks ago.
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Dairy product prices fell for the fifth consecutive GlobalDairyTrade auction, pushing the GDT Price Index to its lowest level since August 2009 and adding to the pressure on the one in four dairy farmers the Reserve Bank says have negative cashflow this season.
The GDT average winning price fell 2.2% to $US2472 from $US2515 at the previous auction two weeks ago. Some 26,535 tonnes of product were sold, down from 27,369 tonnes in the previous auction.
Low prices are seen as one of three key risks to New Zealand's financial stability if they were to persist, the Reserve Bank said in its financial stability report last week. Governor Graeme Wheeler told Parliament's finance and expenditure committee that another year of low prices "would be a worry for the economy." The New Zealand dollar recently traded at 73.40USc from 73.65USc before the auction results were released.
Whole milk powder, the biggest product by volume offered on the GDT platform, fell 0.5% to $US2390 a tonne, slowing from the 1.8% decline in the previous auction while taking its decline since late February to 27%.
Butter milk powder rose 3.2% to $US1930 a tonne, lifting the price from its lowest level in more than a year. Rennet casein fell 0.4% to $US6067 a tonne. Skim milk powder declined 3.6% to $US1992 a tonne, while anhydrous milk fat dropped 4.8% to $US3337 a tonne.
Butter fell 3.2% to $US2911 a tonne and cheddar fell 7.1% to $US2745 a tonne. Sweet whey powder was not offered at the latest event, while lactose rose 0.9% to $580 a tonne.
There were 128 winning bidders out of 162 participating bidders at the 14-round auction. The number of qualified bidders rose to 687 from 685 at the last auction.
(BusinessDesk)
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Dairy product prices fall 2.2%, extending slide to fifth straight GDT auction
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