Dairy prices resume slide in latest auction - down 1.2pc

Photo / Mark Mitchell

Average prices of dairy products resumed their slide in Fonterra's latest auction, the ninth decline in the past 10 sales and the first since the company cut its forecast 2012 payout.

The GDT-TWI Price Index fell 1.2 per cent, according to the latest results posted on the globalDairyTrade auction website. The average winning price declined to US$3,511 a metric tonne. Whole milk powder, the biggest product by volume, fell 0.8 per cent.

See more details of the auction here.

Fonterra chairman Henry Van der Heyden said on October 25 that global dairy prices hadn't recovered as expected as rival producers ramped up production and the stronger kiwi dollar was exacerbating the impact. The payout to farmers for 2012 would be lower than 2011's record payout.

Whole milk powder fell to US$3,487 a tonne in the latest sale while skim milk powder gained 0.2 per cent to US$3,292. Anhydrous milk fat fell 9.3 per cent to US$3,309 a tonne and milk protein concentrate fell 10.7 per cent to US$5,608 a tonne.

Rennet casein jumped 35 per cent to US$9,182 a tonne. Butter milk powder fell 2.2 per cent to US$2,934 a tonne and cheddar fell 3.2 per cent to US$3,406 a tonne.

There were 122 winning bidders from 149 participants over 16 rounds. The platform has 463 qualified bidders, up from 443 at the last auction.