Fonterra said it had increased the mid-point of its forecast farmgate milk price range to $6.80 per kgMS, up from $6.40 per kgMS, driven by improved demand out of China.
The co-op left itself plenty of wriggle room by retaining its current plus or minus 50c per kg range but at $6.80, the price would be one of the highest paid by the co-op, adding $10 billion to regional New Zealand.
Fonterra's milk price hit a record high of $8.40/kg in 2013/14 before slumping to $4.40/kg in 2014/15, and to $3.90/kg in 2015/16.
The price bounced to $6.12/kg in 2016/17 and has generally stayed around the low to mid $6.00 region since then.
Dairy NZ's estimate of break-even is $5.80 to $5.90 a kg.