Australia: Dairy and Products Semi-annual
Australia is a small producer of milk and accounts for about 7 percent of international dairy trade (in milk equivalent terms) down from a peak of 15 percent a few years ago. The industry has been recovering from adverse seasonal conditions, but the outlook for 2015 is more positive as rainfall has been adequate in the main dairy producing regions. The size of the dairy herd will be almost unchanged at 1.7 million head, but milk output is expected to increase slightly to 9.8 million tons due to a rise in yield. Domestic consumption of dairy products in Australia is relatively mature but is expanding in Asian markets. The industry is increasing exports to this region and also seeking to move away from a reliance on commodities to more value-added products.
