Dairy markets suffered a setback this week with downward price trends at the first GDT event for November, and the weekly Dutch Dairy Board auction (DDB).

The GDT auction saw the index price falling 2% to US $3,096. It is the first negative outcome at the bi-monthly event since early September.

Butter did record a 3.9% increase. However, milk powder saw significant price pressure, as did cheddar. Whole milk powder (WMP) fell 2% in value with skim milk powder down 4.4%. Cheddar prices slipped by 0.8%.

Dutch auction

At the weekly DDB, butter eased by €30/t after four weeks of static prices. Butter now stands at €3,320/t, down from €3,400 in September.

SMP fell €20/t to €2,150, although WMP was unchanged at €2,710/t.

Britain

In Britain, a survey carried out by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) during October reports a 4.7% decline in the number of commercial dairy farms year on year.

According to the findings, there are 8,310 dairy farms across England and Wales, a drop of 410 on the same month last year.

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