Global Market Updates
Milk from Australian dairy farms are made into products that are sold locally and in countries around the world. Understanding what is happening in all these markets will provide an insight to important trends that strongly influence Southern Region farmgate milk prices. Keep up to date with the latest global dairy market developments

US March cheese exports record high
US dairy exports surged in March, accounting for 18% of national milk production – a 10-month high. US cheese exports rose 12.9% YOY in March to 41,925t, the highest monthly volume on record in our database which starts in January 2010. In YOY terms, shipments have...

Fonterra New Zealand cuts price range
Fonterra has revised its forecast farmgate milk price range to a range of NZ$9.10kgMS – NZ$9.50kgMS, down from NZ$9.30kgMS – NZ$9.90kgMS. Fonterra said the milk price revision is due to a number of recent events that have resulted in short-term impact on global demand...

EU milk supplies remain tight
EU-27 milk supplies remain tight in March according to Eurostat data. Irish production fell 3.3% YOY to 826m kgs, but on a particularly large prior-year comparable. That decline followed YOY increases in both January and February. The Netherlands is the only other...

GDT slumps as weak Chinese demand keeps buyers away
GDT event 307 produced a large fall in prices across the board as the fears of the effects of protracted COVID restrictions in China kept buyers on the sidelines. SMP fell 6.3% or $278t on average to $4,130/t. Fonterra MH C2 lost $225/t to $4,185/t, but the forward...

US milk decline slowed in March
US milk production fell 0.5% YOY in March according to the USDA, the slowest rate of contraction in five months. USDA said they estimated the national herd grew 15,000 head from February, while its revised February count the herd also grew 13,000 head in that month....

EU-27 exports mixed in February
EU-27 exports were mixed in February across major product categories we track, with declines for milk powders, dry whey, infant formula, milk & cream, FFMP & mixtures and MPC and increases for cheese, fats, lactose and WPC80. SMP exports were down 28.8% YOY to...

NZ March milk drops
The latest data from DCANZ indicates March milk production fell for the eighth consecutive month, down 1.5% YOY on a milk solids basis and 1.9% YOY on a tonnage basis. Year to date, milk solids production is down 3.8%, while production on a tonnage basis is 4% behind...

Dry, warm summer ahead in Europe
Europe is forecast to experience warmer than normal conditions over much of the continent with intensity reducing towards the north with the influence of low-pressure zones and the polar jet stream. Summer conditions are likely to be drier across the continent, except...

GDT slides on weaker demand
Prices for all commodities fell at this week’s GDT event #306. There were some offer volume increases for WMP and fats before this event, which added to the weakness in relative starting demand, while powder futures were also softer in the run-up. SMP fell 4.2% or...

Firmer US cheese and butter markets
Cheese spot and futures prices firmed in the past week on signs of improved export demand and some disruptions to production due to COVID-absenteeism. While the futures forward curve is backward dated with the solid lift in spot prices, this has lifted the front end...