GDT auction first test of end of EU quotas

Farmers will get an early signal next Wednesday of the impact of the end of EU milk quotas on global dairy markets.

The first day that EU farmers are free to produce as much milk as they want is also the day of the next GlobalDairyTrade auction for internationally traded commodity dairy products.

The auctions organised by the Fonterra dairy co-ops occur twice a month, and the last trading event, on St Patrick’s Day, was the first of seven auctions in which dairy product prices decreased, after a mini- recovery in world milk prices.