Dairy Outlook is a service of FAO’s
Trade and Markets Division
The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 196.2 points in August, down nearly 3 points (1.5 percent) from the previous
month, marking the third consecutive month of decline. Price quotations of butter, Skim Milk Powder (SMP) and Whole Milk Powder (WMP) fell for the second successive month, while those of cheese rebounded marginally from the dip in July. The recent price trend
reflects limited market activities, not unusual for this period of the year, as well as market uncertainty surrounding the eventual size of export availabilities. While milk production growth could be adversely affected in parts of Europe and Australia due
to droughts, New Zealand is expected to produce more milk in the 2018/19 season than had been projected earlier.