NZ Milk Production: Increase Falls Short of Estimates
NEW ZEALAND - Milk production in New Zealand for the 2008/09 marketing season is forecast to reach 15.4 billion litres, an increase of over 4 per cent on 2007/08, but considerably lower than previous estimates of up to 9 per cent.
28 April 2009
2 minute read
The bulk of the growth can be regarded as a rebound from the particularly poor production figures for 2007/8 which was affected by severe drought conditions, says Peter Duggan, Strategic Information Services, Bord Bia. According to the Irish organisation, early indications for the 2009/10 season suggest that growth is likely to slow down as lower milk prices and the credit crisis impact on the rate of conversion from sheep to dairy.
In Australia, milk production will probably come in at 9.2 billion litres for 2008/09, according to Dairy Australia. This represents a downward adjustment from previous forecasts, while for 2009/10, Dairy Australia sees early indications of a significant fall in production as feeding rates and cow numbers are reduced.
Oceanic Milk Production (Billion Litres)
Source: Dairy Australia
New Zealand’s largest dairy company, Fonterra, reported the second consecutive increase in price from their latest global dairy trade auction with the average price achieved for Whole Milk Powder across all products and contract periods for April up by more than 3% on March levels at US$2,235/tonne.
This is in line with international trends where, following strong declines most international dairy commodity prices are showing signs of stabilizing, albeit at a considerably lower level. During the fortnight up to 11th April, German bulk butter made roughly €2,150/tonne, down 23 per cent on the same fortnight last year. UK mature cheddar for the same period traded at €2,900/tonne, down around 12 per cent on the same period in 2008. At International level, SMP prices were averaging US$1,800/tonne
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