The weekly Dutch Dairy Board auction on Wednesday saw prices going in the wrong direction for farmers.

Butter plummeted by €300 to €6,400/t. While it has fallen by more than €600/t in the last four weeks, butter is still running €1,600/t above its equivalent value for the same period last year.

Skim milk powder fell by €100 to €3,300/t, down €380/t over the last month. However, whole milk powder was unchanged at €4,670/t.

MPI

With commodity markets trending downwards, the latest UFU milk price indicator (MPI) has slipped by 1.2p to 46.36p/l.

Accounting for transport and processor margins, the MPI would point to markets returning a base price in the region of 41p to 42p/l in the early stages of 2023, down 5p to 6p/l on current levels.

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