News Milk supply
Milkers in New Zealand are now giving gas again
In recent months, milk production in New Zealand has shown a significant backlog, but that has caught up considerably in March. Although there is still a year-on-year decline, the difference is much smaller than it used to be.
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New Zealand milk production in March was 1,81 million tonnes. This is a decrease of 1,45% compared to the same period last year. In the months before this, the backlog was still more than 6%. In March, supply was also above the five-year average again.
Rain in March
The smaller decline is striking, especially because the late summer in New Zealand was initially quite dry and grass growth decreased sharply. However, it rained heavily in March. This even led to flooding on the North Island, near Auckland. Apparently, however, this rainfall was a favorable development for milk production. What also plays a role in the background are the high milk prices.
At Fonterra, by far the largest processor in the country, a record high milk price is expected for this season. The latest forecast assumes a milk price between NZ$9,30 and NZ$9,90 per kilo of milk solids. This means a median price of NZ$9,60, which is 40 cents higher than the penultimate forecast, which was already a record. In Dutch standards this equates to well over forties. As the forecast price increased, the slaughter figures decreased, as is often the case.
Further shrinkage until 2030
Nevertheless, Fonterra assumes shrinking milk production in the longer term, driven by increasingly strict environmental legislation. CEO Miles Hurrel indicated in an interview with Bloomberg this week that he was taking into account a further contraction of 2% to 3% until 2030.