Global Dairy Trade invites Indian dairy companies to participate in auctions

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz Online global platform for trading dairy commodity ingredients, GlobalDairyTrade (GDT), has invited Indian dairy companies to participate in its auctions. Dairy commodities traded on GDT include skim, sweet whey and whole milk powders, anhydrous milk fat, butter and butter milk powder, cheese, lactose and casein products. US-based Charles River Associates (CRA) established the GDT in 2008 for the New Zealand-based cooperative Fonterra which is the world’s largest dairy exporter. Since then, the platform has grown significantly with annual sales reaching one million tonnes in the year ending April 2014 with skim milk powder sales growing almost 45% over the last two years. CRA conducts two auctions in a month, and each trading event usually gets over in 2-3 hours, claims GDT. There is also an automatic bidding choice for bidders who are unable to participate while the trading event is going on. Hundreds of active bidders participate in the auctions from over 90 countries, which helps sellers get the best possible price (usually 10-12% higher than traditional exports). Currently, Amul is the only Indian company on GDT. Michael Nolan, GM Operations, GlobalDairyTrade, told The Dollar Business, “No other Indian dairy companies have expressed serious interest in joining GDT to date, but they would be very welcome assuming they can meet the basic requirements for new sellers.” Annual milk production in India stands at around 140 million tonnes, which allows a small surplus for exports. Demand for milk and milk products in India is expected to touch 200 million tonnes by 2024. Amul is India’s largest milk exporter and exports to various markets across the world.