Global milk production finally starts to reduce

Published 17 November 15

Milk production in the 5 key exporting regions (EU, US, NZ, Australia and Argentina) is slowing down, the first meaningful reduction for two and a half years. NZ has recorded the biggest reduction, down 7.5% on September last year.

Volumes did decline temporarily in late 2014/early 2015, but this was primarily down to a number of EU countries holding production back due to quota restrictions. As a result, those reductions were more than offset by a rapid rise in April.

The annual milk production equivalent* for the key 5 in September is estimated at 278bn litres, down 7bn litres from the peak recorded in July. Around 4bn litres of this decrease is due to the fall in NZ production over the last two months. However, over the same time period, the EU, US and Australia have all started to show reductions in milk volumes.

* AHDB applies a seasonal adjustment to milk production for the big 5 exporting regions to create an annual equivalent. This allows figures to be compared month-on-month, allowing trends to be spotted earlier than the more traditional rolling 12-month totals.