Australia’s largest dairy exporter, the Murray Goulburn Co-operative, has become the third major dairy supplier to participate in the New Zealand-based GlobalDairyTrade auction platform, joining Fonterra and Dairy America. Murray Goulburn will begin offering lactose through the auction platform from 3 April 2012.

GlobalDairyTrade began in 2008 as a single-seller auction for whole milk powder. It appears to be transforming into a platform for companies to trade commodity dairy products internationally. The auctions, which are referred to as trading events, are run twice each month.

Murray Goulburn’s Managing Director, Gary Helou, said that increased demand for lactose for products such as infant formula and other nutritionals has motivated Murray Goulburn to join the system, which has been largely dominated by its major market competitor Fonterra to date.

Mr Helou said, “Offering lactose on GlobalDairyTrade will further develop the market for this product and has the potential to reduce volatility and provide more reliable price discovery for buyers and sellers.”

GlobalDairyTrade sales to date total more than US$5 billion. It currently trades around 700,000 metric tonnes of products annually and has around 500 qualified bidders from more than 80 countries.

Murray Goulburn said that more information on its offering on GlobalDairyTrade will be provided to prospective customers in the lead up to formal participation in April 2012.

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