The latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, the fourth in the series of fortnightly events this calendar year, saw the price index fall to a 13-month low.

The February 18^th auction saw 175 bidders compete for 28,181 tonnes of dairy products, paying an average $3,176 per tonne.

The price index fell by 2.9% from the previous fortnight’s event to reach 978 – the lowest point since the 942 on January 13^th 2019. The latest fall is less than the previous fortnight’s 4.7% but follows two consecutive index rises in January.

Cheddar was the only product category to show an increase – gaining 5.3% to $4,526/tonne. Anhydrous milk fat was the biggest loser, down 5.5% to $4,379, while butter lost 3.9% to $4,090/tonne; whole and skim milk powders 2.6% each to a respective $2,966/tonne and $2,840/tonne; and rennet casein lost 0.9% to average $9,873/tonne.