Dairy prices and Fonterra forecast December 2025

The story so far

At the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, reported on 2 December 2025, average prices fell 4.3% to US$3507 a tonne.^{3 Dec 2025} It was the eighth consecutive fall, bringing prices near a two-year low, and whole milk powder prices dropped 2.4% as supply continued to exceed demand.^{3 Dec 2025} Global butter prices are also falling, but supermarket prices are not expected to drop as quickly or as far as they rose, after butter had become a major consumer concern.^{4 Dec 2025}

Latest

Fonterra's reduced 2026 farmgate milk price forecast, with a range of $8.50 to $9.50 per kilogram of milk solids, is the newest development.^{18 Dec 2025}

Key moments

1. 3 Dec 2025Dairy prices fall for eighth straight auction, down 4.3% to US$3507.
2. 4 Dec 2025Supermarket butter prices expected to fall more slowly than they rose.
3. 18 Dec 2025Fonterra cuts 2026 farmgate milk price midpoint forecast to $9.00.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.