UNITED STATES
For the eighth consecutive month in a row, milk futures hit a record high in September, which is pushing a boom in domestic milk production.
Class III milk futures, which influence prices in products like cheese, were trading at $24.43 per hundred on September 9, according to International Business Times. That represents an increase of more than 25% on the year.
Domestic milk consumption is estimated to hit record highs of 93.4 million metric tons, and domestic cheese consumption should hit 4.88 million tons, according to the USDA.
Alan Levitt, a spokesman for the U.S. Dairy Export Council, told Bloomberg News that in the same timeframe, U.S. dairy producers shipped 17% of global milk production over the first six months of the year, marking another record for the American milk industry.
Even with the rise in dairy consumption in the U.S., the rising prices and booming production likely signal a price drop in the long run, International Business Times reports.
Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the average price of a gallon of whole, fortified fresh milk was $3.65 as of July, which represents an increase of 5.7% over the same period in 2013.
Stay tuned to DeliMarket TV for the latest dairy market updates.
