Milk powder prices hit record highs

Global prices for milk powder has hit a record high due to the drought in Australia and falling farm subsidies in Europe.

At the end of November, global prices for skim milk powder were 23% up on a year ago while whole milk powder prices were up 17%.
The drought in Australia and warm summer in the US has been the primary causes but even though market recovery in Australia is slow, the US shows a reasonably steady recovery. In the US, demand for whole and skim milk powder has also increased because of the high price for soy milk.
Reduced supply out of Europe has also had an effect on prices because of the gradual lowering of export subsidies making European dairy farmers concentrate more on internal markets.