Global milk deliveries

Updated 22 August 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 782.4 million litres per day in June, a slight decline of 0.1 million litres per day across the selected regions, compared to the same period last year. Australia and EU recorded year on year volume increases, whilst Argentina, US and New Zealand declined and the UK was stable .
• Milk deliveries in the EU averaged 409.1 million litres per day in June, an increase of 4.1 million litres per day (1.0%) 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 French milk production, up 54 million litres (2.9%). Production volumes in Italy and Poland were up, by 29million litres (2.9%) and 41 million litres (3.8) respectively. In Germany, production was flat on year ago levels and Irish volumes were back 13 million litres (1.3%).
• UK daily deliveries averaged 42.5 million litres per day in June, up just 0.1% compared to last year. Following weaker production throughout the flush, we saw June deliveries move much closer to year ago levels as improved grass abundance and quality boosted milk yields.
• US production was down 1.0% year on year, with production at 275.6 million litres per day in June. Sustained drops in production in the US can be attributed to significant reduction in cow numbers in late 2023, alongside the effect of heat stress on cows in recent months, reducing yields.
• Australia recorded an increase in milk production, with deliveries up 0.7 million litres per day (3.4%) compared to last year, to sit at an average of 19.9 million litres per day.
• New Zealand deliveries were down 0.1 million litres per day (1.1%) on last year’s figure, with June’s average daily deliveries at 7.4 million litres per day. Commentary indicates a sluggish start to their milk season, with drier weather conditions limiting pasture growth.
• Argentina’s production declined in June, down 2.2 million litres per day (7.1%) versus last year to sit at 28.1 million litres per day. Following a period of declines, forecasters are predicting some recovery in Argentinian milk production over the coming months as the cooler, sunny winter weather improves cow comfort.

• 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.