- Milk production in Australia is forecast to increase this year.
- The reasons include a reduction in beef cattle herds and an increase in dairy herds, as well as favorable market conditions for milk, feed and fertilizer, and good weather conditions.
- The popularity of fluid milk among the public is declining, but Australia’s population and dairy exports are growing.
- Dairy processing mainly produces cheese, as well as milk powder.
Australia’s dairy market is forecast to increase production in 2024.
USDA analysts predict that Australia’s milk production will increase this year. However, this does not mean that the popularity of the milk consumed is increasing – the amount of the product per person will fall by 2%. Due to Australia’s population growth, however, total milk consumption will increase by 0.5%. Cheese and milk powder production will also increase, with 5.6% more milk going to the local processing market. Australia’s total milk production growth will increase by 3.3%, reaching 8.75 million tons. This is the first time this has happened in four years. As for exports, sales of fluid milk outside the country have been declining since 2021 due to declining demand in China, which has been Australia’s main market for milk exports. This trend will continue in 2024, while exports of cheese and milk powder should increase significantly due to increased production.
Why is Australia’s milk production increasing?
High production is supported by a favorable milk price, low feed and fertilizer prices and good weather conditions. In addition, the price of beef cattle has dropped significantly, and demand for dairy heifers from China has also decreased. This has led to a shift of many cows from meat herds to dairy herds and thus an increase in milk production. However, a slight reduction in projected profits may be affected by the drought in some areas of Australia. We are talking about the western and southern regions of the country, as well as the southwestern part of the state of Victoria.
