Market News

Dairy declines further

Dairy markets slipped a little further on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday. Cash cheese barrels declined a nickel, blocks lost 3.75 cents and butter slipped another 2 cents.  Class III futures were mixed: January declined 14 cents, February gained 3 cents, March lost 2 cents and June increased 2 cents.

For the week, cash cheese barrels lost 13 cents, blocks fell 11.5 cents, butter declined 5.5 cents and nonfat dry milk slipped a quarter-cent. Class III futures for January fell 65 cents, February lost 53 cents, March declined 44 cents and the June contract slipped 13 cents.

 

USDA is accepting comments on a proposed rule change for the issuance of certain dairy import licenses. The changes would be to the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.  The three most significant changes would be:

• To suspend for an additional seven years the historical license reduction provision which currently expires at the end of 2016.
• To modify procedures for collecting licensing fees to better align with the cost of administering the program.
• To exclusively use electronic communications in the application, reporting and payment processes.

The purpose of the proposed changes is to reduce lag times, minimize paper files and increase the efficiency of program operations at USDA.

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on December 23^rd, comments will be accepted through February 23, 2015.