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World wholesale prices
Updated 19 March 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.
Overview
N.B. This page has not been updated with the latest US data for SMP and cheese due to the unavailability of USDA data. The US butter pricing source has been replaced with CLAL.
EU
Milk deliveries in the EU continued the growth in momentum fuelled by low input prices, good forage quality and elevated milk prices for most of 2025. Strong milk supplies put pressure on dairy markets in late 2025.
In February, however, wholesale price movements of dairy products saw some uplifts. Powders saw recovery, with skimmed milk powder (SMP) and Whole milk powder (WMP) prices up by 14% and 4.6% respectively.
The average price of butter increased by 1.7% according to the USDA source, though a decline of 1.6% was recorded by the Milk Market Observatory. The difference can be attributed to a variation in reporting weeks used for the month average.
The average price of cheese dropped by 3.7% in February according to the Milk Market Observatory.
Oceania
Milk deliveries in Oceania finished the 2025 year strong. New Zealand continued to see strong milk flows, up by 2.5% in December while Australian volumes tipped into growth at 1.9% higher compared to the same period in the previous year.
Average prices of dairy products saw upwards movements across the board. SMP and butter saw the largest increases of 12% each, month-on-month. WMP and Cheddar cheese increased by 6.7% and 1.6%, respectively.
World wholesale prices
Table 1. World wholesale prices for butter
| $/tonne | Feb 26 | Jan 26 | % | Feb 25 | Jan 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 3,927 | 3,168 | 24.0 | 5,509 | -28.7 |
| Oceania | 5,913 | 5,281 | 12.0 | 7,294 | -18.9% |
| EU | 5,006 | 4,925 | 1.7 | 7,563 | -33.8% |
Table 2. World wholesale prices for SMP
| $/tonne | Feb 26 | Jan 26 | % | Feb 25 | Jan 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceania | 2,906 | 2,594 | 12.0 | 2,938 | -1.1% |
| EU | 2,806 | 2,463 | 14.0 | 2,688 | 4.4% |
Table 3. World wholesale prices for WMP
| $/tonne | Feb 26 | Jan 26 | % | Feb 25 | Jan 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 4,610 | 4,064 | 13.4 | 4,768 | -3.3 |
| Oceania | 3,563 | 3,338 | 6.7 | 4,125 | -13.6 |
| EU | 3,706 | 3,544 | 4.6 | 4,563 | -18.8 |
Table 4. World wholesale prices for Cheddar cheese
| $/tonne | Feb 26 | Jan 26 | % | Feb 25 | Jan 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceania | 4,725 | 4,650 | 1.6 | 4,956 | -4.7 |
Source: USDA
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