The latest results on the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) have shown a slight decline in the index figure, marking three decreases in a row.

After the latest auction event today (Tuesday, September 16), the index is down by 0.8%, representing an average price of €3,434 per metric tonne (mt) of product sold.

This latest decrease follows on from a 4.3% tumble two weeks ago.

The index figure now stands at 1,199, the lowest figure since October 2024.

In the latest auction, 165 bidders participated, with 123 winning bidders emerging through 20 bidding rounds that lasted two hours and 57 minutes.

Overall, 39,093mt of product was sold.

Looking at the individual sub-indices for the various products, the most notable result was for mozzarella, the index for which took a hit of 9.6%, reflecting a price of €3,281/mt.

Elsewhere, anhydrous milk fat (AMF) fell back by 1.5% for a price of €5,781.

More marginal decreases were noted for butter (down 0.8% for a price of €5,858/mt); whole milk powder (down 0.8% for a price of €3,221/mt); and skim milk powder (down 0.3% for a price of €2,222/mt).

The only product to see a positive result was cheddar, the index for which increased by 2.2% for a price of €4,091/mt.

Lactose was not offered at today's GDT event, while the results for butter milk powder (BMP) were recorded as 'n.a.' for both index and price.

'N.a.' for index means that no product was offered or sold, or no price was published for the last event, or on both of the two previous events.

The latest GDT figures come as milk processors in Ireland are in the process of announcing their milk prices for August supplies.

Last week, Lakeland Dairies announced that it will reduce its milk price to farmers for August, following on from a similar announcement last month for July milk.

The board of Lakeland has agreed a price of 47.25c/L at 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein for August milk in the Republic of Ireland.

This is a reduction of 1c/L on the price paid for July.

In Northern Ireland, a price of 38.3p/L will be paid for milk supplied in August, which is a decrease of 1p/L.