Global milk deliveries

Updated 03 September 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 759.4 million litres per day in July, a decline of 3.4 million litres per day across the selected regions, compared to the same period last year. Australia and New Zealand recorded year on year volume increases, whilst Argentina, the EU and the US declined. The UK was stable.
• Milk deliveries in the EU averaged 391.7 million litres per day in July, an increase of 1.9 million litres per day (0.5%) compared to the same month of the previous year.
• Within the EU, the greatest uplift in production volumes were in France, Poland and Italy, up by 23.1 million litres (1.2%), 16.7 million litres (1.5%) and 14.2 million litres (1.4%) respectively. Meanwhile, a decline in milk volume was seen in the Netherlands, down 35.6 million litres (3.1%), followed closely by Germany which fell by 34.7 million litres (1.3%). Irish volumes were back by 33.9 million litres (-3.3%).
• UK daily deliveries averaged 40.2 million litres per day in July, a marginal decline of 0.1% from last year. After a slow start to the year, some improved weather has benefitted grass production and quality.
• The US recorded a 0.4% year on year decrease in production, with volumes at 268.8 million litres per day in July. July marks the 13th month to see a decline, having seen a significant reduction in cow numbers.
• Australian production was up by 1.6% year on year, with deliveries up 0.3 million litres per day compared to last year, to sit at 18.7 million litres per day.
• New Zealand deliveries were up 0.8 million litres per day (8.6%), on last year’s figure, to sit at an average of 9.7 million litres per day in July. Commentary suggests that favourable weather has improved production in the North Island. However, actual changes are relatively low as New Zealand is currently in the trough of the milk cycle.
• Argentina experienced a 4.8% decline in July, down 1.5 million litres per day compared to last year, to sit at 30.3 million litres per day. After a lack of rainfall recently, forage availability will be a watchpoint going forward.
  

• 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.