World dairy prices slump in the first trading of the year

World dairy prices have fallen in the first Global Dairy Trade (GDT) commodity auction of 2016.

The GDT price index fell 1.6% at the 5 January sale, with the weighted average price hitting USD$2,458/t (£1,678/t).

Key products skim and whole milk powder and anhydrous milk fat all fell – by 0.8%, 4.4% and 2.7% respectively.

See more: Outlook 2016: Predictions for the dairy farming sector

All other products saw improvements, with the price of lactose increasing the most, with an 11.4% rise. 

The tonnage sold, however, was up just over 3% from the previous fortnightly sale to 25,671t, but was down almost 24% on the same time last year, when it was 33,669t.

This time last year, prices on the GDT were 9.3% lower than the sale this week, at $2,709/t (£1,849/t).