The world’s top dairy exporter, New Zealand’s Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, said on Tuesday that milk production in its home market fell 1 percent in March, a respite for global dairy prices.
The fall in production came despite an improvement in weather conditions, the dairy exporter said in a statement.
Last month, the Global Dairy Trade Price Index climbed 2.7 percent, with an average selling price of $3,587 per tonne, in its latest auction.
The index had fallen for the fourth time in a row at the previous sale, edging down 0.6 percent.
“All up, this auction result hints at strong global demand. And with NZ production still relatively weak heading into winter, we expect prices, if anything, to creep a little higher over coming months,” said ASB rural economist Nathan Penny, in a research note.
Prices had been slipping in recent weeks thanks to New Zealand, the world’s largest dairy exporter, posting stronger-than-expected production as bad weather conditions eased up.
Nevertheless, the Pacific nation was still struggling with below-average supply due to extreme weather fluctuations and analysts said buyers were starting to realise that and snap up any New Zealand products they could find.
A total of 19,262 tonnes was sold at the latest auction, an increase of 11.8 percent from the previous one, the auction platform said.
Source: Farm Ireland
