The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index has taken sharp downward turn in the latest trading event today (Tuesday, July 2).
The index fell by 6.9% from most recent index after the last trading event two weeks ago, the sharpest decline so far this year.
The index figure is down from 1,157 a fortnight ago to 1,077 now, the lowest figure since late March.
A total of 24,138 metric tonnes (mt) were sold in today’s auction, at an average price of $3,782/mt.
160 bidders participated in the event, with 113 winning bidders emerging across 16 bidding rounds over two hours and 23 minutes.
Looking at the individual sub-indices for the various products, there were decreases across the board.
The sharpest fall was for anhydrous milk fat (AMF), which decreased by 10.7% for a price of $6,517/mt.
The butter sub-index also fell sharply, by 10.2% for a price of $6,546/mt.
Cheddar fell back by 6.9% for a price of $3,980/mt, and skim milk powder (SMP) fell by 6.1%, reflecting a price this time out of $2,586/mt.
Whole milk powder (WMP) fell back by 4.3%, for a price $3,218. No percentage change was noted for mozzarella, which recorded an average price of $4,260/mt.
Lactose was the only product to see an increase in its sub-index, recording a small increase of 0.6%, for an average price of $804/mt.
The latest GDT index figure is the second consecutive reduction in index, after the marginal 0.5% decrease after the last event on June 18.
Prior to that, the index saw five consecutive increases since March 19.
Today’s GDT figure comes after concerns of a “massive restructuring” in the dairy sector in Ireland.
Farm organisations raised these concerns after Tirlán announced on June 20 that 150 jobs were likely to go across the organisation as a result of a new “cost reduction programme”.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), Denis Drennan, warned that this could be “just the beginning of a massive restructuring” of the dairy sector which he said is due to “government policy”.
Drennan believes the dairy sector in Ireland is “shrinking” because of “depressive policies and regulations”.
“The 150 redundancies that Tirlán are seeking may be just the beginning of a wider sector restructuring,” Drennan said at the time.
“We are in danger of entering a period of decline of the sector that, more than any other, provided prosperity and economic prospects to rural areas all across the state,” the ICMSA president added.