After the slump in WMP (whole milk powder) prices to $1,590/t (€1,447/t) in August 2015, Fonterra foresees relatively stable milk prices for the next three years.

Theo Spierings, CEO of Fonterra said: “if there are no drastic changes around the world – borders closing or massive geopolitical issues – I think we will have two, possibly even three years of relative stability of milk prices”.

“I always look at WMP because that’s the most important for us, and that is around $3,000/t (€2,730/t), which is up from $2,176/t a year ago,” Spierings told The Edge in Malyasia.

WMP is Fonterra’s and, by extension, New Zealand’s, most important dairy produce. While it has been diversifying in skim milk powder, butter milk powder, butter and anhydrous milk fat, WMP is still its staple product. It is the performance from this product mix that makes up the price Fonterra pays to its farmers.

The next Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction takes place on Tuesday 16 May, which you can follow on www.farmersjournal.ie.

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