Ornua’s Purchase Price Index (PPI) has dropped further for the month of March, down from February’s index of 105.4.
According to the Irish dairy exporter, March’s figure of 100.4 works out at 29.6c/L, VAT inclusive, based on Ornua’s product purchase mix and assumed costs of 6.5c/L.
This month’s index was adjusted from the slightly revised figures of 105.4 in February, according to an Ornua spokesperson.
The March 2018 index reflects higher butter returns in the month, offset by lower cheddar and powder prices, the spokesperson added.
This follows a steep decrease in the index last month, where February’s index dropped to 105.4, down from January’s 111.3 figure.
Slight drop in April GDT
Meanwhile, another slight decrease of 0.6% was recorded for the overall Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index at the most recent event, held last week on April 3.
Runnning for a total of two hours and 17 minutes, the auction – event 209 – saw 123 winning bidders across 16 rounds from a total of 169 participating bidders.
An overall figure of 17,222MT was sold on the day.
Butter also saw a boost of 4.1% at the event. Most other products on offer saw a slight increase in value, with the exception of skimmed milk powder, which took a 1.8% decrease.