The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) Index saw its first decrease since August 3, after the latest auction event yesterday (Tuesday, December 21). The index fell slightly by 1.5% yesterday, resulting in an average price of $4,236/MT, down from $4,290/MT which was achieved at the event on December 7. The index figure now stands at 1,333, down from 1,354.

Event 298 yesterday was the first since early August to see a decrease, the eight events between now and then seeing increases in the index (with the exception being October 5, when the index was unchanged.

158 bidders competed across 13 bidding rounds yesterday, with 117 winning bidders emerging after one hour and 56 minutes. The total quantity of product sold was 30,375MT. Despite the decease in index, the product sub-indices only saw a fall for one product - whole milk powder (WMP), which slipped back 3.3%, for an average price of $3,867/MT.
Image source; GDT December 21
Data source GDT
Index increases were recorded for all other products that were offered (butter milk powder and, as usual, sweet whey powder were not offered). The best performer was lactose, which increased by 3.7% to $1,390/MT. More marginal increases were also seen for anhydrous milk fat (AMF), butter, cheddar and skim milk powder (SMP); these products increased in index by 0.9%, 1%,0.5% and 0.6% respectively (returning average prices respectively of $6,724/MT, $5,851 /MT, $5,241/MT and $3,745/MT). The key results from this event are summarised below:
  • AMF index up 0.9%, average price $6,724/MT;
  • Butter index up 1%, average price $5,851/MT;
  • Cheddar index up 0.5%, average price $5,241/MT;
  • Lactose index up 3.7%, average price $1,390/MT;
  • SMP index up 0.6%, average price $3,745/MT;
  • WMP index down 3.3%, average price $3,867/MT.
GDT