The Ornua Purchase Price Index (PPI) for February has taken a tumble from last month, dropping down to 105.0; this was adjusted from 111.3 in January.

This equates to 31.3c/L including VAT, based on Ornua’s product purchase mix and assumed costs of 6.5c/L.

The February index reflects lower returns for butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP) and spot product, according to Ornua.

This is the lowest the PPI has fallen to in almost a year, having previously recorded an index of 105.0 in April 2017.


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January’s PPI had been unchanged from the December 2017 index; the figure for the last month of 2017 dropped from 115.0 to 111.3, bringing to an end six consecutive monthly increases in 2017.

Slight drop to latest GDT

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction – event 207 – concluded with a slight reduction of 0.6% in the price index.

This follows on from a similar marginal fall of 0.5% at the previous event on February 20. However, each of the first three auctions of 2018, recorded increases.

Interestingly, the strongest change in individual products was a 5.5% rise in the SMP index.

The next biggest change was a 4.3% drop in buttermilk powder. Lactose was not available on the day. Of the products that were on offer, all recorded price decreases – except cheddar and skimmed milk powder.