MILK
One must wonder when the selling pressure will end. Class III futures have dramatically fallen over the past week, taking away everything gained over the past month. Traders were quick to sell as losses mounted. Trading volume was rather heavy with October futures seeing almost 1,000 contracts traded.
The bearish implications of the August Milk Production report had some influence on the negativity. The Global Dairy Trade auction took place today with the trade-weighted average increasing 4.6%. There were 176 bidders during trading with 37,366 metric tons (mt) sold. Anhydrous milk fat increased 5.3% from the previous event to $4,787 per mt or $2.17 per pound. Butter price increased 3.8% to $4,723 per mt or $2.14 per pound. Cheddar cheese decreased 1.7% to $4,044 per mt or $1.83 per pound. Skim milk powder increased 5.4% to $2,400 per mt or $1.09 per pound. Whole milk powder increased 4.6% to $2,799 per mt or $1.27 per pound.
The top food and beverage company for 2023 is Nestle, followed by PepsiCo, on Food Engineering's top 100 food and beverage companies list. Land O' Lakes Inc. is ranked 23 and Fonterra is 35. Saputo is at 43 and Agropur Cooperative is at 76, to name a few others.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $17.85 |
| 6 Month: | $17.91 |
| 9 Month: | $18.03 |
| 12 Month: | $18.17 |
CHEESE
Barrel cheese buyers were not interested in purchasing, but sellers wanted to sell what they had available to move. The aggressiveness of sellers caused buyers to pull back, hoping to buy at lower prices. Once the selling was finished Tuesday, the price bounced as buyers then became a bit more aggressive to pick up supply at the lower price.
BUTTER
The increase in butter price Tuesday was a surprise and may be an indication that seasonal buying is increasing and orders are picking up. The price, substantially higher than the price on the Global Dairy Trade today reflecting world prices, might continue to keep international demand substantially lower for the rest of the year.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
December corn closed up 4.75 cents per bushel at $4.7625, November soybeans closed down 1.25 cents at $13.1550 and December soybean meal closed up $1.30 per ton at $389.20. December Chicago wheat closed down 7.25 cents at $5.84. December live cattle closed down $0.53 at $190.48. November crude oil is down $0.10 per barrel at $90.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 107 points at 34,518 with the NASDAQ down 32 points at 13,678.
