The average Global Dairy Trade (GDT) price index has increased by 1.1% after the latest auction today (Tuesday, April 1).

There were a total of 163 bidders in the event which saw 17,643 metric ton (mt) of product sold.

The average selling price was €3,930 per metric ton in the auction which lasted for more than two hours, during which there were 123 winning bidders.

The GDT Price Index now stands at 1,265 today – compared to the previous index figure on March 18 which was 1,251.

GDT is owned and managed as a strategic partnership between the European Energy Exchange (EEX), Fonterra Cooperative Group, and New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX).

The auction tends to be viewed as a good barometer of dairy prices and an indicator of supply and demand in the market.

Skim milk powder (SMP) recorded the highest price increase today – rising 5.9% to €2,659/mt.

Anhydrous Milk Fat increased by 2.3% to €6,199/mt and cheddar increased by 1.7% to €4,640/mt.

There were disappointing results for butter milk powder down 5.6% to €2,595/mt, mozzarella down 4% to €4,176/mt, lactose down 2.6% to €1,047/mt, butter down 1.2% to €7,029/mt, and whole milk powder down 0.1% to €3,756/mt.

Meanwhile, as global dairy trade continues to fluctuate, GIRA CEO Christophe Lafougere said that the future trend for Ireland will possibly be “adding more value” to milk, and potentially reducing butter and skimmed milk.

“Ireland needs to supply more and more added value to the world, and what we have seen is a bit higher of a milk price in Ireland, so you need to justify that high milk price with a lot of value,” he said.

In a presentation, Lafougere said that the Irish dairy industry is “heavily exposed” to the US as a key market outside Europe.

The impact of US tariffs on the global dairy trade are unclear, however, Irish butter trade may see “key” changes, according to Lafougere.