Milk collection still down despite better milking
Fonterra’s milk flows are still down by 5 per cent even though it has collected more milk from farmers to make a slight recovery in its seasonal production.
The milk decline this season was previously at 7 per cent. Wet and cool weather conditions through peak milking, as well as the Northland drought were factored into the revision, according to the co-operative’s latest Global Dairy Update.
Milk collections were down 5 per cent nationwide for the season from June to the end of January, reaching 1053 million kilograms of milksolids (kg MS), which was 54 million kilograms less than the same stage last season.
In January, milk collections reached 173 million kilograms, 1 per cent behind the same month last season. The largest decrease was in the North Island, where volumes dropped 7 per cent from June to January.
South Island farmers fared better with collections falling only 2 per cent from June to January and January collections reached 72 million kilograms, 1 per cent up on the same month last season.
Milk production among EU dairy farmers decreased for the sixth consecutive month with November collections down 4 per cent compared with the same month last year. In Australia, November flows decreased 6 per cent and were down 7 per cent for the year to November.
However, US production in December increased 2 per cent compared with the same month last year, with farmers responding to better weather and grain prices. Exports from the United States continued to grow, up two per cent for the year to November. New Zealand exports in November were down 5 per cent or 19,000 tonnes, compared with the same month last year because of a combined 7 per cent fall in whole and skim milk powder exports, which account for 60 per cent of monthly exports.
However, exports lifted 6 per cent for the year to November with 191,000t leaving New Zealand.