The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) price index increased 1.9% on Tuesday and now stands at 1239, which is up from 1216 at the last event two weeks previous.

Some 36,244mt of products were sold at an average price of €3875/mt, compared to €3668/mt at the previous event on November 5.

The trading event attracted 162 participating bidders of which 106 were winning bidders across 18 bidding rounds and a total duration of two hours and 38 minutes.

In contrast to the previous event at which most products saw an improved demand, indicies for Mozzarella and Cheddar both slipped by 6.6% and 3.1% to €4089 and €4581 respectively. Furthermore, there was no lactose or butter milk powder forward or sold.

Global Dairy Trade Index rose 1.9% on TuesdayGlobal Dairy Trade Index rose 1.9% on Tuesday Whole milk powder saw the biggest rise at +3.2% to average €3626, while anhydrous milk powder improved by 1% to €7223 and butter increased by 0.5% at €6641. Skim milk powder saw a 0.9% rise at €2731.

While the latest GDT auction showed another rise, the GB total spend on cow’s milk continues to fall according to the latest figures from Nielsen. Figures for the 52 weeks ending November 2, show volumes declined 0.6% year-on-year with the growth in average prices (+0.5%) not quite enough to balance volume losses as spend on cow’s dairy declined 0.1%.

Spend on cow’s milk fell 6.3% while volumes declined by 1.8% year-on-year. Semi-skimmed cow’s milk accounts for 59.6% of volume sales but contributed most to the decline, while whole milk continued to see growth (+2.3%), driven by an increase in buyers as well as an increase in purchase frequency.

MORE NEWS | Kevin Evans' Sarah tops Dolgellau online dog sale at £10,200

MORE NEWS | Prime lambs hitting record November high of £3 per live kg +

Cow’s cheese remains in growth with volumes up 3.8% year-on-year, and spend rising by 3.2% (NIQ Homescan POD, Total GB). Cheddar saw a 4.1% increase in volumes sold driven by an increase in volume per shop up 2.9%. This drove cow’s cheese performance as cheddar accounts for 41.7% of all cow cheese sold. Other cow’s cheese also saw strong growth driven by cottage cheese.

Cow’s butter saw a volume decline of 3.5%, despite a decrease of average prices (-0.2%). However, block butter saw volumes increase by 6.0%. Plant-based spread volumes increased, likely due to switching gains from cow’s butter as they were £2.06/kg cheaper.

Volume sales of cow’s yoghurt, yoghurt drinks and fromage frais continue to grow, now up 6.4% while spend increased by 8.2%. Despite increasing prices, most of the cow’s yoghurt categories saw volume growth. Standard plain yoghurts grew the fastest, up 22.7% while healthy yoghurts saw the largest increase up 10.7 thousand tonnes year-on-year (NIQ Homescan POD, Total GB).

Cow’s cream volumes grew by 2.5% year-on-year, primarily driven by existing shoppers buying more. Double, sour cream and crème fraiche all experienced volume growth.