On 18 August 2026, another auction of dairy futures contracts was held on the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) exchange. The price index rose 2.3% versus the previous session of 4 August 2026 — the third consecutive rise, which may point to a strengthening improvement in sentiment on the global dairy market, Portal Spożywczy reports.

Most products rose

Gains covered most categories: skimmed milk powder (SMP, +7.6%), mozzarella (+6.1%), whole milk powder (WMP, +3.0%) and lactose (+3.2%). Declines came in milk fats and derivatives: anhydrous milk fat (AMF, −6.0%), buttermilk powder (BMP, −3.5%) and butter (−2.0%). 

Cheddar closed almost flat (+0.6% on average), with divergence between delivery months. The results show a widening gap between the powders/cheese segment and the fats segment. The weighted-average price of all contracts was €3,341/tonne (FAS), on volume of 41,054 tonnes.

Powders up most; fats under supply pressure

Powders posted one of the strongest rises: SMP gained 7.6% on average with a fairly even spread across contracts (7.0–8.6%), pointing to broad rather than spot demand, while WMP rose 3.0%, accelerating in later months (Oct–Dec 2026: 2.7–3.3%). 

Their consistent strength suggests import demand — including from Asian markets — has stabilised after a stock correction. Fats stayed under pressure: AMF fell for a third straight session (−6.0%, −7.4% for October), butter dropped 2.0% (−2.6% in November), and BMP remained the most volatile product (−3.5% average, masking −8.9% in the nearest September contract).

Cheeses, lactose and the next session

Mozzarella rose strongly and broadly (+6.1% on average, +5.2% to +6.5% across contracts) — a notable reversal of an earlier correction in European mozzarella, worth watching next session. 

Cheddar was relatively stable on average (+0.6%) but with wide divergence: a strong October rise (+4.9%) contrasted with falls in September, November, December and January (−1.1% to −2.3%), suggesting a spot rather than systemic move. Lactose, offered only in the October contract, rose 3.2%. The next GDT session takes place on 1 September. 

GDT is the world’s leading trading platform for basic dairy products, with annual trade worth USD 2–3 billion, operating since 2008; the only Polish company present and trading on GDT is Polmlek.

Source: Portal Spożywczy