World wholesale prices

Updated 15 October 2026

This price series looks at the average wholesale prices of certain dairy products from the EU, Oceania and the USA. It aims to provide an overview of global wholesale price movements which can affect prices closer to home.

N.B. The US butter, SMP and cheese pricing source has been replaced with CLAL.

EU

Milk production continued to grow in the latest delivery data for July.

According to the USDA, WMP and SMP increased by 12.2% and 9.1%, respectively during the period as demand remained robust. Butter saw a 1.0% decrease month-on-month in September, whereas the Milk Marketing Observatory recorded an increase. The difference could be attributed to a difference in reporting period.

USA

Milk deliveries in the US continue to grow. Investment in processing facilities have increased the volume of dairy products produced.

CLAL reported a drop in the price of butter for another consecutive month in September, taking the average down by 5.4% month-on-month. Prices remain very depressed at a significantly lower level of 24.1% year-on-year.

SMP prices increased by a substantial 17.4%, month-on-month in September. The price was taken to 58.9% ahead of the year ago level. Good buying interest in the domestic market firmed demand.
WMP prices also increased, by 7.9% month-on-month.

Meanwhile, the average cheddar cheese price declined by 10.6% during the period, with the lowered price holding into October. US cheese production continued to reach new highs.

Oceania

In New Zealand, favourable dairy economics underpinned by strong farmgate milk prices and positive farmer margins supported record milk solids and very strong yields for the new milk season.

In Australia, the milk year also started with positivity in July, driven by high milk prices and favourable weather conditions.

Average price movements of dairy products were mixed in the region for September. Butter recorded the largest monthly decline of 6.3% followed by cheddar cheese (-0.5%). Conversely, SMP and WMP witnessed modest gains of 10.7% and 3.3% respectively month-on-month in September.

Table 1. World wholesale prices for butter

Table 2. World wholesale prices for SMP

Table 3. World wholesale prices for WMP

Table 4. World wholesale prices for Cheddar cheese

Source: USDA

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