The slide in the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index has continued after the latest trading event today (Tuesday, December 2).

The index fell back by a further 4.3%, reflecting an average price of €3,011 per metric tonne (mt).

The index figure now stands at 1,054, the lowest figure since January 2, 2024, when the figure was 1,038.

The index is 290 points behind a 2025 high of 1,344, recorded after the trading event of May 6.

This is the eighth consecutive decrease in the GDT index, with the latest decrease of 4.3% the joint largest decrease in that sequence - the other 4.3% decrease occurring on September 2.

The GDT index has not seen an increase since August 5, and then only by 0.7%.

In today's trading event, 146 bidders participated over the course of two hours and 15 minutes across 22 bidding rounds, with 117 winning bidders emerging.

Overall, 34,282mt of product was sold.

Looking at the sub-indices for the individual product categories, it was a day to forget for butter, the index for which decreased by 12.4%, reflecting an average price of €4,439/mt.

Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) also saw a significant fall, with its index falling by 9.8% for an average price of €5,068/mt.

Other decreases were recorded for whole milk powder (down 2.4% for an average price of €2,889/mt); skim milk powder (down 1.6% for an average price of €2,145/mt); and Mozzarella (down 1% for an average price of €2,732/mt).

It wasn't all decreases however.

Cheddar put in an impressive showing, increasing by 7.2% reflecting an average price of €3,984/mt, while lactose increased by 4.2% reflecting an average price of €1,073/mt.

Finally, butter milk powder increased by 1.8%, reflecting an average price of €2,498/mt.

The GDT is a trading platform for core dairy products, and is used to "support efficient dairy derivative trading".

The GDT auction events includes buyers and sellers of dairy ingredients from 60 countries who trade US$2-3 billion in dairy products annually.

Dairy farm incomes

The latest GDT index figures come as new figures reveal that Irish dairy farmer income could fall by 42% in 2026.

The average dairy farm income in 2026 could fall to around €80,000, down from an around €137,000 this year, according to Teagasc economists today (Tuesday, December 2).

The potential drop would represent a 42% decrease on the estimated average dairy income level for 2025 according to economists.

Teagasc has published its Outlook 2026: Economic Prospects for Agriculture report, which sets out the prospects for Irish farmers for next year.

The outlook was produced ahead of the decision on Ireland's bid to secure a new nitrates derogation.

According to Teagasc, its outlook report was compiled on an assumption that the derogation will "remain".