Post by jrtheoriginal on Dec 10, 2011 8:51:28 GMT -5
Here is a little good news for us t itty tuggers.
Whole-Milk Powder Surges to Three-Month High as N.Z. Drought Curbs Output
By Phoebe Sedgman - Dec 15, 2010 8:13 PM CT
Whole-milk powder prices advanced to a three-month high as drought in New Zealand, the world’s biggest milk exporter, curbed production, and ANZ National Bank Ltd. forecast further increases next year.
The average spot price advanced 2.2 percent to $3,597 a metric ton in a Dec. 15 auction, the highest level since Sept. 15, according to data on the GlobalDairyTrade website. Powder for February delivery gained 3.2 percent compared with two weeks earlier, according the website.
More expensive milk may fuel faster global food inflation, boosting costs for consumers. The World Food Price Index, a gauge of 55 farm-commodity prices from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, climbed to the highest level in more than two years this month on rising cereals, sugar and oils.
Milk prices may rise further after New Zealand declared medium-level droughts in Waikato, the biggest milk-producing region, and Northland, according to Con Williams, rural economist at ANZ National Bank Ltd. Production was falling at a “substantial” rate as farmers in drought zones cut milking to once a day and culled older and non-pregnant cows, he said today.
“The rate of decline and what farmers are doing is going to impact the remainder of the season,” Williams said from Wellington. “That’s really going to lower milk production over the next six months.”
Lower Output
Milk output has fallen 4.7 percent on the North Island this month compared with December last year, and declined 1.8 percent on the South Island, according to Auckland-based Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world’s largest dairy exporter.
Fonterra raised its farmer payout forecast on Dec. 10, citing rising global prices. The company expects to pay its 10,500 farmers NZ$6.90 ($5.10) per kilogram of milk solids in the year to May 31, compared with a Nov. 5 forecast of NZ$6.60.
Last season, Fonterra collected 4.3 percent less milk from North Island suppliers after a drought in Northland and Waikato. “Milk production in the North Island is declining and we know farmers in some regions are struggling,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ferrier said in a Dec. 10 statement.
The winning first-contract price for regular New Zealand whole-milk powder, the reference point for NZX Ltd.’s futures contract, rose to $3,580 a ton, according to a trade-weighted price index calculated by Fonterra after its latest auction. The December contract settled yesterday at $3,605.
To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman in Wellington at psedgman2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
Whole-Milk Powder Surges to Three-Month High as N.Z. Drought Curbs Output
By Phoebe Sedgman - Dec 15, 2010 8:13 PM CT
Whole-milk powder prices advanced to a three-month high as drought in New Zealand, the world’s biggest milk exporter, curbed production, and ANZ National Bank Ltd. forecast further increases next year.
The average spot price advanced 2.2 percent to $3,597 a metric ton in a Dec. 15 auction, the highest level since Sept. 15, according to data on the GlobalDairyTrade website. Powder for February delivery gained 3.2 percent compared with two weeks earlier, according the website.
More expensive milk may fuel faster global food inflation, boosting costs for consumers. The World Food Price Index, a gauge of 55 farm-commodity prices from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, climbed to the highest level in more than two years this month on rising cereals, sugar and oils.
Milk prices may rise further after New Zealand declared medium-level droughts in Waikato, the biggest milk-producing region, and Northland, according to Con Williams, rural economist at ANZ National Bank Ltd. Production was falling at a “substantial” rate as farmers in drought zones cut milking to once a day and culled older and non-pregnant cows, he said today.
“The rate of decline and what farmers are doing is going to impact the remainder of the season,” Williams said from Wellington. “That’s really going to lower milk production over the next six months.”
Lower Output
Milk output has fallen 4.7 percent on the North Island this month compared with December last year, and declined 1.8 percent on the South Island, according to Auckland-based Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world’s largest dairy exporter.
Fonterra raised its farmer payout forecast on Dec. 10, citing rising global prices. The company expects to pay its 10,500 farmers NZ$6.90 ($5.10) per kilogram of milk solids in the year to May 31, compared with a Nov. 5 forecast of NZ$6.60.
Last season, Fonterra collected 4.3 percent less milk from North Island suppliers after a drought in Northland and Waikato. “Milk production in the North Island is declining and we know farmers in some regions are struggling,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ferrier said in a Dec. 10 statement.
The winning first-contract price for regular New Zealand whole-milk powder, the reference point for NZX Ltd.’s futures contract, rose to $3,580 a ton, according to a trade-weighted price index calculated by Fonterra after its latest auction. The December contract settled yesterday at $3,605.
To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman in Wellington at psedgman2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net