Report 19 – Released on May 7, 2020

AUSTRALIA:

July 2019 – March 2020 milk production in Australia decreased 1.8 percent from the corresponding previous period, according to Dairy Australia. March 2020 milk production,643.3 million liters, was 7.1 percent higher than March 2019. More detailed production data are in the table which follows.

     AUSTRALIA MILK PRODUCTION, MILKFAT and PROTEIN

                            July 2019 - March 2020

                            Million Percent Change   Percentage
     State                  Liters  From 1 Year Ago  Milkfat Protein

     New South Wales          798.2  -5.0            4.09    3.33
     Victoria               4,427.4  -1.2            4.57    3.56
     Queensland               242.0 -12.7            4.04    3.31
     South Australia          371.6  -3.7            4.05    3.39
     Western Australia        275.8  -3.9            4.07    3.22
     Tasmania                 759.1  +4.2            4.67    3.73
     Australia (Total)      6,874.2  -1.8            4.44*   3.52**

     *  +0.1 percent from prior year period
     ** +2.6 percent from prior year period

     Data from Dairy Australia

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is moving away from previous COVID-19 restrictions. Sources say that as of mid-week, restrictions have eased off. Many restaurants and fast food outlets are now open for delivery or takeout, but no sit-down service as yet. It will be announced next week whether restrictions are to ease further again. New Zealand has had no new cases for the past two days.

It is still quite dry. Much of New Zealand has had quite a bit of rain over the past few days, but it hasn’t quite improved soil moisture to a more normal level for this time of year. It is looking greener, there is a bit more grass around. Many observers expect that official reports will note milk production trending down for April. The rest of the milk season is projected to be back to more normal levels – either flat on last year or up slightly. Dairy manufacturing plants are mostly not able to operate at full capacity due to the social distancing measures that remain.

Information for the period April 27 -  May 8, 2020, issued biweekly

     Published by:
     Dairy Market News - Madison, WI
     Eric Graf, 608.422.8590
     Email: Eric.Graf@usda.gov

     Additional Dairy Market News Information:
     Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602
     DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
     DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov