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Fonterra cautiously begins lowering milk prices
Fonterra has slightly reduced its milk price for the current 2025/26 season. At the same time, the New Zealand dairy cooperative anticipates increased milk production from its own members.
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The milk price forecast is going down from $10 per kilo of solid milk to $9,50, or a decrease of 5%. Compared to the milk price drop we're seeing here in Europe, this is limited. In the Netherlands, for example, the milk price is FrieslandCampina already down by almost a quarter since August.
Fonterra's current forecast price remains the second-best ever. However, the season is still long, and several further reductions are possible. The final milk price will not be announced until September of next year. Based on price developments on the Global Dairy Trade, Fonterra's proprietary trading platform along with NZX and EEX, further reductions are likely.
Fonterra also expects its own milk production to increase this year. The forecast has been raised by 1,3% to 1,525 million kilos of milk solids. This is in line with the higher milk supply figures that have been visible in New Zealand in recent months.