Following steady growth to record levels since last December, the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) Price Index has fallen.
Following the previous trading event on March 1, the index had hit 1,593 – its highest level in a decade.
As a result of event 304, which was held today (Tuesday, March 15), the index dropped by 0.9% to 1,579. However, this is still the second highest level recorded in the past 10 years.
In total, 177 bidders took part in today’s auction of dairy produce with 109 winning bidders.
There were 16 rounds of bidding during the event which lasted for two hours and 26 minutes. 23,348MT of produce was sold, with an average price paid of $5,039.
Skim milk powder (SMP) had the largest increase in price today, rising 1.6% to $4,545.
There were only marginal gains for anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and cheddar. AMF increased by 0.4% to $7,111, while cheddar was up 0.3% to $6,412.
During the March 1, trading event, cheddar jumped by 11% and AMF rose by 2%.
However, the prices dropped for the other products offered for sale today. Whole milk powder (WMP) fell by 2.1% to $4,596, butter dropped by 1.8% to $6,958 and lactose decreased by 0.6% to $1,618.
Butter milk powder (BMP), which saw a strong increase in price during the last trading event, was not offered for sale during today’s auction. Sweet whey powder (SWP) was also not sold during the event.