Dairy Outlook is a service of FAO’s Trade and Markets Division

 

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 209.8 points in February, up 9.2 points (4.6 percent) from January, rising for the fourth consecutive month and placing the index at 17.4 points (9.0 percent) above its value in the corresponding month last year. In February, price quotations for cheese surged by as much as 20 points (10.6 percent), underpinned by the tightening of export supplies from New Zealand with the seasonal milk production decline, further accentuated by reduced export availabilities from Australia due to less than average milk output in the 2019/20 season. By contrast, quotations for skim powder (SMP) and whole milk powder (WMP) declined due to a slowdown in purchases by China – the world’s largest milk powder importer – in view of the delays in cargo handling in ports, affected by the spread of the coronavirus. 

Tables and graphs