The analytical service of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine has reviewed four years of GDT prices for key dairy commodities. As of the 1 September 2026 event, butter and cheddar are notably down, while milk powder is rising.
The Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDEU) has published an analysis of Global Dairy Trade (GDT) prices for key milk commodities — butter, cheddar cheese and milk powder — from August 2022 to September 2026, prepared by its analytical service following the 1 September 2026 event (auction No. 411).
Butter and cheddar
Butter fell to $5,000 per tonne on 1 September 2026, down from $6,900 on 17 March 2026 (−27%). It was below $5,000 for most of 2023 before rising to a peak of $8,000 on 6 May 2025.
Cheddar fell to $3,500 per tonne, down from $4,920 in March (−29%) — a low not seen in five years — with an especially steep drop from 2 June 2026 (from over $4,600 to $3,500, −24.2%).
Milk powder: SMP overtakes WMP
Skimmed milk powder (SMP) rose to $3,700 per tonne on 1 September 2026, up from $2,430 at the end of 2025 (about 1.5x). It reached $3,550 at the May event, then eased, before rising steadily from 7 July 2026 (from $3,140 to $3,700, +17.8%) — a high last seen in July 2022.
Notably, SMP’s price has overtaken whole milk powder (WMP) for the first time since August 2022 — a marked reversal in the relationship between the two key powders.
Source: Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDEU analytical service; Global Dairy Trade data)
