1 December 2010

2 minute read

Oceania

Highlights from this annual report include many details about world trends in milk production, processing, trade and consumption, as well as farm milk and wholesale dairy product prices. This year's version includes new chapters, including one on the leading dairy companies by region of the world.

The overarching issue in the dairy industry recently was the decline in international demand for dairy products, beginning in mid-2008 and lasting well into 2009. However, economic recovery around the world, as well as country-specific issues like the melamine crisis in China, resulted in a remarkable revival in world dairy trade beginning in the second half of 2009, and it continues today.

The growth of world milk production slowed in 2009, growing only 0.8 per cent to 703 million metric tons (1,550 billion pounds) compared to an average growth of about two per cent per year the prior decade. This slowing of growth led to a statistical anomaly; since world population grew faster in 2009 than milk production, per capita consumption of milk and dairy products actually declined slightly. Between 2000 and 2008, world per capita dairy consumption grew by 8.4 kilograms (18.5 pounds), an increase of nearly nine per cent, while 2009 saw a decline of 0.4 kilograms (0.9 pounds, or less than 0.4 percent) from the 2008 level.

Despite sluggish demand in early 2009, overall world trade in dairy products for the year as a whole grew by about seven per cent over 2008. However, growing world dairy trade is not new; since 2000, world trade in dairy products has grown by an average of three per cent per year. In 2009, all the major dairy products saw increased world trade volumes, with butter/butter oil up 16 per cent, skim milk powder up 12 per cent, and cheese, whole milk powder and whey products all experiencing about a five per cent trade-volume growth.

The "World Dairy Market Forum" section of the report includes papers by internationally recognized experts on global milk-production costs, volatility in milk prices in both the US and EU, and details on four futures market exchanges for dairy around the globe. Finally, the report includes more detailed reports on the state of the dairy industry in 45 individual countries.

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