The Milk Exchange broke new ground for the Australian dairy industry when it started online auction for farm milk in April, but so far no milk has been sold through the system.
A total of 122.6 million litres of farm milk was offered for sale on Wednesday, up four per cent on the last auction held on May 19.
The average offer price from milk suppliers was $7.43 a kilogram milk solids in Victoria and 9.54/kg MS in NSW.
Bids from milk buyers ranged from $6.70-$7.20/kg MS in Victoria, at an average of $6.87/kg MS, down seven cents/kg on the previous auction average.
There were 14 bids on 39pc of the milk volume on offer.
At the close of the auction, milk suppliers maintained their offer prices.
Milk Exchange general manager, commercial development Richard Lange said there was heightened interest by milk buyers in Wednesday’s Milk Exchange.
Sellers and buyers appeared to lift their expectations with higher offer and bid prices.
New buyers and milk suppliers continue to register and participate in the market.
“Although dairy companies announced opening prices yesterday (Tuesday), it appeared too early to assess these prices against the contracts offered at the auction,” he said.
“A spread (gap) between offer prices and bid prices continues to be a barrier to settlement on milk contracts.”
Mr Lange said the auction was a great step forward in understanding how the technology added transparency and market choice for farmers.
Farmers who participated had taken a step forward to proactively marketing their milk instead of being reactive to offers from dairy companies.
“This is a case of farmers taking control and offering their milk pro-actively,” he said.
The next trading event for farm milk will be on Wednesday, June 16, from 10am to 2pm.
