【来源】:the International Dairy Federation
【文件格式】:PDF
【页数】:113
【目录或简介】:
The world dairy markets have been in transition over the past few years - a transition to the global
marketplace so long a mainstay for other agricultural commodity and food product markets. The
record farm milk price levels seen in 2007 and early 2008 around the world were a window into a
future of greater dairy trade, while the past year revealed how a global economic downturn affects
our dairy markets.
Higher prices of milk and dairy product in recent years were a direct result of growing world economic
prosperity and the greater demand for dairy products that followed. Dairy markets in individual
countries found prices rising well above the levels prescribed by domestic government policies as
government-controlled inventories of dairy products like butter and milk powders emptied.
However, as other global commodity and product markets have long known, changes in economic
prosperity around the world has great impacts on world markets, and the dairy industry was no
exception beginning in mid-2008. Higher farm milk prices encouraged greater milk production, while
the resulting higher prices of dairy products limited demand growth.
The decline in global economic activity, forecast by the United Nations to fall by 2.6 percent in
2009, has added even more stress to dairy markets. The same forecast indicates that the world
economy will return to growth in 2010 and beyond, but it may take several years to return to the high
growth levels seen earlier this decade.
How the dairy markets fare as economic growth returns depends on many factors. The markets,
however, are adjusting to the effects of a larger global marketplace, both the positives seen in the
years leading up to this one and the negatives seen this year. The need for comprehensive market
information, such as that provided by the World Dairy Situation is critical for farmers and companies
in such a marketplace, and the International Dairy Federation is pleased to bring the latest issue to
your doorstep.
Bob Yonkers