Milk Price Boost Welcomed
NORTHERN IRELAND, UK - The latest Fonterra milk auction results in New Zealand are a sign that whole milk powder markets are consolidating according to Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) Deputy President, John Thompson. He welcomed a price rise of 3.6 per cent in Fonterra's latest online auction.
8 December 2009
1 minute read
The average price for whole milk powder (WMP) in the December auction, which finished early on Wednesday morning, was US $3,560 a tonne. This is $123 a tonne more than the average price in the November auction and is the fifth consecutive month of gains, with prices rising 95 per cent since December 2008.
Prices fetched during the auction ranged from $US3,370 to $3,760 a tonne.
Mr Thompson said; “This is further evidence of the continued firming of world prices and auction results have been buoyed by strong demand from Chinese markets. Chinese imports of WMP have risen 490 per cent in the first eight months of 2009. Added to this, stocks in New Zealand are lower than expected and in Australia supplies for the last quarter had fallen by four per cent”.
However, Mr Thompson added a word of caution; “Whilst world markets are improving and the forecast is more positive, we expect more volatility due to supply and demand responses to the price increase, which means the economic outlook is still relatively fragile. A sustained recovery is reliant on strong consumer demand," he said.
The next Fonterra auction is being held on 5 January 2010.
TheCattleSite News Desk
