ARDEN HILLS, MN
Land O'Lakes will be the second U.S. dairy company to join GlobalDairy Trade, the world dairy trading platform which was started in 2008 by New Zealand's Fonterra. Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter, has seen growing interest from dairy firms in joining its international trading platform as a result of increasing demand for dairy products in emerging economies such as China.
GlobalDairy Trade Director Paul Grave says, "This further demonstrates GDT's expanding role as a key platform for international trade in a broad range of dairy commodities."
Land O'Lakes will begin by offering skim milk powder through the platform in March, and it will supply butter later in 2014.
The platform holds biweekly auctions for milk products which primarily include whole and skim milk powder, cheese, butter, in addition to other dairy products. These auctions are considered to have a major influence on international dairy prices.