Global milk deliveries

Updated 25 June 2024

Trends in global milk supplies impact on prices. Deliveries in the six key exporting regions are tracked to provide an overview of current production levels and trends in global milk supplies.

The milk production regions included are the EU-27, UK, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Combined, they account for more than 65% of global cow's milk production and around 80% of global exports of dairy products.

• Global milk deliveries averaged 832.5 million litres per day in April, a decline of 3.8 million litres per day (-0.5%) across the selected regions, compared to the same period last year. Australia and EU recorded year on year volume increases, whilst the UK, Argentina, US and New Zealand declined.
• Milk deliveries in the EU averaged 417.5 million litres per day in April, an increase of 4.6 million litres per day compared to the same month of the previous year.
• Looking at this EU figure in greater detail, we saw the greatest year on year volume change in Irish milk production, down 81 million litres (7.9%). Production volumes in Italy and Poland were up, by 89 million litres (8.7%) and 58 million litres (5.4) respectively. In France and Germany, production inched up slightly.
• UK daily deliveries averaged 43.7 million litres per day in April, down 1.5% compared to last year. Exceptionally wet conditions throughout the Autumn, winter, and spring, teamed with a cooler than average second half of April held back production leading to a spring flush that was well below average.
• US production was down 0.6% year on year, with production at 280.4 million litres per day in April. Reports suggest that production was increasing on the month across all regions, as expected with seasonal trends as farms move towards the spring peak.
• Australia recorded an increase in milk production, with deliveries up 0.5 million litres per day (2.5%) compared to last year, to sit at an average of 19.7 million litres per day.
• New Zealand deliveries were down 2.0 million litres per day (4.1%) on last year’s figure, with April’s average daily deliveries at 47.4 million litres per day. Commentary suggests that farmer sentiment is mixed with some regions experiencing good production whilst others had to dry off cows early due to dry weather conditions.
• Argentina’s production declined in April, down 4.6 million litres per day (16.2%) versus last year. Significant declines have been seen for many months as the region grapples with a macroeconomic challenges and extreme weather conditions.

• The tracker is a baseline for comparing against actual production, not a forecast of milk production.
• The baseline is calculated using historic month-on-month movements in milk production, providing information on a typical milk year in each of the key regions.