— Susan Kilsby, AgriHQ
Dairy product prices fell for the second consecutive time at the latest auction held on Tuesday in New Zealand, official data showed. The GDT Price Index dropped 0.4%, following a 0.8% decrease registered at the preceding auction, with an average selling price of $3,303 per tonne. During the Tuesday auction, some 28,574 tonnes of dairy products were sold, compared with 21,171 sold previously. The price of skimmed milk powder fell 4.5% to $2,090 per tonne, the price of anhydrous milk fat dropped 3.5% to $6,596 per tonne. On the other hand, lactose gave up 3.3%, falling to $839 per tonne, while prices of cheddar retreated 3.2% to $4,051 per tonne. Moreover, the price of rennet casein fell 2.7% to $6,133, whereas butter prices showed a slight decline of 0.1% to $5,775. Though, the price of butter was still more than two times higher since June 2016. Some experts suggested that it was too early to expect dairy product prices to resume the downside trend. Some 127 out of 165 bidders won, with the majority of buyers coming from the Middle East and North Asia.
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