Global milk price continues to fall

World dairy prices fell again on Wednesday (15 April), following a heavy slump two weeks ago on the day the EU abolished quotas.

The average winning price on the Global Dairy Auction fell 3.6% to $2,620/t (£1,774/t), with a mix of higher and lower prices for different products.

Butter fell 6.6% to $3,026/t (£2,050/t), while whole milk powder fell 4.3% to $2,446/t (£1,656/t). Skim milk powder suffered the biggest price drop – down 7.8% to $2,253/t (£1,525/t).

However, cheddar saw a price rise of 2.7% to $2,888/t (£1,956/t) and butter milk powder was up 2.1% to $2,208/t (£1,495/t).

See also: Post quotas: How to make the most of milk

Prices had seen a tentative recovery since early January, but came crashing down 10.8% at the last sale on 1 April.

After rising for six sales running since mid-December, the key global indicator has taken heavy hits in the past three sales.

An earlier DairyCo report said drops might not be cause for immediate alarm, as the market was probably rebalancing after stronger-than-expected rises.

“Many analysts believe that global prices are in period of stability and it won’t be until summer/autumn before a recovery will start to take place, albeit with some bumps in the road possible,” the report said.

Dairy markets have been highly sensitive in 2015, with uncertainty over drought in New Zealand and how much milk European nations were ready to produce once quotas ended.