The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index has increased by an impressive 6.7% after the latest trading event yesterday (Tuesday, February 3).

The latest index reflected an average price of €3,235 per metric tonne (mt) of product sold.

A total of 24,034mt of product was sold in the auction, down from around 27,800mt in the previous trading event on January 6.

Yesterday's event saw 175 bidders participate and 98 winning bidders emerge across 25 bidding rounds, which all together lasted for two hours and 43 minutes.

This is the third consecutive increase in the GDT index, which is updated after every trading event every two weeks.

It follows a 1.5% increase on January 20, and a 6.3% increase on January 6, the first index update for the year.

That first index update of 2026 put a halt to a downward trend in the GDT index that had been ongoing for most of the second half of 2025.

The first index update of this year was preceded by nine consecutive decreases in the index, going back to August 19.

The index figure now stands at 1,161, the highest figure since October 21, though still someway off the 2025 high of 1,344 achieved on May 6.

Looking at the individual product sub-indices, all products saw increases, with both mozzarella and skim milk powder (SMP) both recording increases in their respective indices of 10.6%.

In the case of mozzarella, this reflected a price of €3,120/mt, and for SMP the index reflected a price €2,427/mt.

Butter also performed strongly, increasing by 8.8% for a price of €4,876/mt.

The next highest performer was butter milk powder (BMP), which increased by 6.4% for a price €2,658/mt.

The sub-index for whole milk powder (WMP) increased by 5.3% for a price of €3,052/mt.

Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was not far behind, recording an increase in index of 5%, reflecting a price of €5,510/mt.

Finally, cheddar recorded an increase of 3.8% for a price of €4,030/mt; while lactose recording an increase of 1.5% for a price of €1,191/mt.