Inside Milk
Australian dairy exports fall in value
Australian milk supply grew last year and dairy exports have developed positively in recent months. The export value, on the other hand, has decreased. What are the prospects for the coming months?
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Australian dairy farmers have last year more milk produced than in 2019. In total, milk production was 2,8% higher. In 2019, the sector suffered from drought and forest fires, which had a negative impact on livestock and therefore also on milk supply.
More dairy exported
Because milk production was higher last year than in 2019, more milk was also available for dairy exports. Over the period from July 2020 to January 2021, Australian dairy exports managed to achieve a growth of no less than 7,2%. A total of 466,575 tons of dairy products were exported.
Liquid milk exports achieved a growth of 16% and had the largest share of total dairy exports. Butter exports achieved the strongest growth at 116%. Smaller quantities of some individual products were also exported, such as Cheddar (-22,8%) and whole milk powder (-10,8%).
| July to January this year | July to January last year | %change | |
| Butter | 9,894 | 4,571 | + 116,4 % |
| Butter oil | 3,014 | 2,175 | + 38,5 % |
| cheddar | 17,211 | 22,301 | -22,8% |
| Other cheese | 68,675 | 68,187 | + 0,7 % |
| Milk | 167,048 | 143,611 | + 16,3 % |
| Skimmed milk powder | 59,574 | 56,529 | + 5,4 % |
| Full milkpowder | 26,184 | 29,350 | -10,8% |
| Whey powder | 20,531 | 17,024 | + 20,6 % |
| Mixed products | 32,974 | 45,040 | -26,8% |
| Other | 61,471 | 46,477 | + 32,3 % |
| Total | 466,575 | 435,265 | + 7,2 % |
Value has dropped
The export value, in contrast to the export volume, has actually fallen. In total, dairy exports were worth $1,804 million, a decrease of 4,5% compared to the same period last year.
The value of butter exports achieved the fastest percentage growth at 49%. Furthermore, the export value of butter oil, milk and skimmed milk powder increased. The value of Cheddar fell the most at 27%.
| July to January this year | July to January last year | %change | |
| Butter | 57.193 | 38.364 | + 49,1 % |
| Butter oil | 15.843 | 15.126 | + 4,7 % |
| cheddar | 102.815 | 141.146 | -27,2% |
| Other cheese | 392.373 | 419.431 | -6,5% |
| Milk | 220.354 | 187.943 | + 17,2 % |
| Skimmed milk powder | 241.639 | 232.628 | + 3,9 % |
| Full milkpowder | 235.005 | 285.927 | -17,8% |
| Whey powder | 75.108 | 91.124 | -17,6% |
| Mixed products | 259.75 | 310.506 | -16,5% |
| Other | 205.400 | 167.526 | + 22,6 % |
| Total | 1.804.907 | 1.889.721 | -4,5% |
Forecast 2021
Milk production has found an upward trend and This was also continued at the beginning of this year. However, milk production is currently heading towards a seasonal low, because people are working towards winter instead of summer, as in Europe.
The seasonal low is expected to be less low than last year, because the Australian livestock is growing again. The prospects for next year are therefore not gloomy.