MD_DA128 DA MD DA128 Cheddar Cheese - Oceania MADISON, WI. February 16, 2017 (REPORT 7) OCEANIA INFORMATION GATHERED 02/06/2017 - 02/17/2017 U.S. DOLLARS PER METRIC TON, FOB PORT CHEDDAR CHEESE: Cheddar market prices in Oceania slightly firmed this week, reflecting some strength since what last week's more negative GDT results suggested. Cheese manufacturers continue to find cheddar to be a more profitable use for current milk production than some other dairy products. Export activity is steady. Export customers in Asia, the largest regular customers for exported cheese from the region, tend to be reliable through fluctuations in price. Demand keeps relatively stable. December 2016 cheese production in Australia, 31,015 MT, is up 1.6% from December 2015, according to Dairy Australia. July-December 2016 production, 170,597 MT, is down 0.7% from the same period of 2015. Cheddar exports including processed cheddar from Australia from July-December 2016, 26,743 MT, were 0.5% lower than the same period of 2015, according to Dairy Australia. The value of the 2016 exports was 6.3% below 2015 exports. The Dairy Market News International Monthly Summary and Averages for Oceania cheddar in January, 2017, was $3,766, up from $3,062 one year earlier. At GDT event 181 on February 7, the all contracts price for cheddar was $3,798, down 3.7%. 39% MAXIMUM MOISTURE: 3,800 - 3,950 0930c eric.graf@ams.usda.gov USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin Dairy Market News website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy Dairy Market News database portal: http://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/da-home