Lasting just a minute over two hours, a total of 14 bidding rounds took place, involving 165 participating bidders — of which 111 landed winning bids.

Interestingly, the price for the newest product to the GDT offering, Sweet Whey Powder — which was supposed to make its debut at today’s auction — was not available. Buttermilk Powder (BMP) was not offered on the day.

Key Results:

• AMF index up 5.8%, average price US$ 6,354/MT;
• Butter index up 2.4%, average price US$ 5,787/MT;
• BMP not offered;
• Ched index up 4.4%, average price US$ 4,205/MT;
• LAC index down 3.5%, average price US$ 687/MT;
• RenCas index down 6.1%, average price US$ 4,876/MT;
• SMP index up 3.0%, average price US$ 2,047/MT;
• SWP index not available, average price not available;
• WMP index up 0.2%, average price US$ 3,226/MT.

The most dramatic change on the day was to Rennet Casein, which dropped by 6.1%. Going in the other direction was Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF), which saw its index rise by 5.8%.

Last week, Ornua announced that its Purchase Price Index (PPI) for April will remain the same as March’s index of 100.4.

This, according to the Irish dairy exporter, works out at 29.6c/L — VAT inclusive — based on Ornua’s product purchase mix and assumed costs of 6.5c/L.

A spokesperson for Ornua revealed that the April 2018 Index is unchanged, with higher butter and SMP returns in the month offset by lower cheddar returns.

This month’s PPI follows on from last month, when a sharp drop from February’s index of 105.4 was recorded; this, in turn, followed a steep decrease from January’s figure of 111.3.

agriland