It was another week of mixed fortunes on the dairy trade front, with a second consecutive Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction showing a positive result while European prices dipped again.
Let’s go with the good news first. The second GDT auction of 2026 saw the index increase by 1.5%.
The main movers were butter, which went up by 3%, skim milk powder (SMP), which went up by 2.2% and whole milk powder (WMP), which went up by 1%.
The quantity of product offered and sold at the auction was back to just under 28,000t, which is a decline on the last auction.
The price increase is an indicator of renewed interest among buyers for dairy now that prices are more affordable.
It explains why the GDT is seeing the increase while the European and US markets remain much more subdued.
It seems that for many markets in southeast Asia, high prices for dairy over the last 18 months priced them out of the market.
But as prices fall, they can now afford to buy again and this is putting a floor on the market.
Increased demand to use up product is exactly what the industry needs right now.
However, in Europe the pain remains and butter prices fell this week by €70/t to drop below €4,000/t.
Some analysts are pointing to increased stocks of butter building across Europe. This indicates that sellers are reluctant to sell at current prices, probably because they will do so at a loss. High stocks across Europe is not a good sign.
It was another week of mixed fortunes on the dairy trade front, with a second consecutive Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction showing a positive result while European prices dipped again.
Let’s go with the good news first. The second GDT auction of 2026 saw the index increase by 1.5%.
The main movers were butter, which went up by 3%, skim milk powder (SMP), which went up by 2.2% and whole milk powder (WMP), which went up by 1%.
The quantity of product offered and sold at the auction was back to just under 28,000t, which is a decline on the last auction.
The price increase is an indicator of renewed interest among buyers for dairy now that prices are more affordable.
It explains why the GDT is seeing the increase while the European and US markets remain much more subdued.
It seems that for many markets in southeast Asia, high prices for dairy over the last 18 months priced them out of the market.
But as prices fall, they can now afford to buy again and this is putting a floor on the market.
Increased demand to use up product is exactly what the industry needs right now.
However, in Europe the pain remains and butter prices fell this week by €70/t to drop below €4,000/t.
Some analysts are pointing to increased stocks of butter building across Europe. This indicates that sellers are reluctant to sell at current prices, probably because they will do so at a loss. High stocks across Europe is not a good sign.
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