Prices have dropped in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 2.3 per cent decline across the board.
This is the first negative event of the 2024 calendar year, with the index kicking off the new year with a 1.2 per cent bump on January 3, followed by a 2.3 per cent gain on January 17, a 4.2 per cent increase at the last event on February 7 and a modest 0.5 per cent lift on February 21.
Whole milk powder, continued a downward trend (-1.8 per cent at the previous event), dipping 2.8 per cent to an average of US$3286/MT.
Skim milk powder - Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – had a significant drop of 5.2 per cent, to an average of US$2640/MT.
Butter fell 1.0 per cent to an average of US$6461 per cent, after enjoying an impressive 10.3 per cent hike on February 7.