Perfect storm hitting dairy

By Fran O’Sullivan, Alexander Speirs

Fonterra’s Lukas Paravicini was on the money when he warned this month that the global supply and demand balance for dairy was still fragile.

Fonterra’s farmer shareholders — like other milk producers in New Zealand – had been looking forward to a continuation in this year’s upswing for prices at the GlobalDairyTrade auction, as the market turned the corner away from 2014’s slump for dairy products traded on the auction platform.

Yesterday, Paravicini — who is Fonterra’s chief financial officer – was proved right.

The GlobalDairyTrade average winning price dropped 8.8 per cent to US$3136 ($4287) a tonne down from US$3374 at the previous fortnight’s auction. The amount of product sold was also down 10 per cent. The key trend factor – more

– NZ Herald