Global Dairy Auction steadies with 0.6% slip

Prices on the Global Dairy Trade auction fell 0.6% this week, putting off fears of a crash after Russia’s ban on Western food imports.

The average winning price dropped to US$3,000/t (£1,802), down from US$3,025/t (£1,818) the previous fortnight and the lowest point since August 2012.

But supplies remained high for the year, as the total tonnage sold dipped slightly to 46,387t.

The previous three auctions saw drops of 4.9%, 8.9% and 8.4% and Russia’s ban had added to fears that prices would crash again as exports looked for new destinations.

See also: Russia ban hurts UK dairy companies

Imports from the EU account for 29% of Russia’s cheese supply, 16% of its whey powder, 12% of its skim milk powder and 10% of its butter.

At the auction, results for different commodities varied widely, with skim milk powder and cheddar suffering a heavy falls but butter and anhydrous milk fat seeing decent rises.

Individual product results were:

• Butter sold at a weighted average price of US$2,940/t (£1,767) and the index was up 4.9%
  
• Cheddar sold at a weighted average price of US$3,453/t (£2,075) and the index was down 7.9%
  
• Anhydrous milk fat sold at a weighted average price of US$3,566/t (£2,145) and the index was up 3.6%
  
• Buttermilk powder sold at a weighted average price of US$3,886/t (£2,335) and the index was down 2.5%
  
• Skim milk powder sold at a weighted average price of US$2,874/t (£1,729) and the index was down 12%
  
• Whole milk powder sold at a weighted average price of US$2,804/t (£1,687) and the index was up 3.4%
  
• Rennet casein sold at a weighted average price of US$9,601/t (£5,769) and the index was down 0.8%

GDT – owned by New Zealand co-op Fonterra – holds two online auctions a month, with dairies from Europe, India, USA, New Zealand and Australia selling commodities to buyers from more than 90 countries.