Cool, wet weather is being blamed on a 4.2% fall in milksolids production during August, Fonterra’s latest Global Dairy Update says.
Following a good start to the season, pasture conditions were impacted as a result of colder and wetter weather in August compared to a milder August last year. New Zealand milk production for the 12 months to August was 2.4% lower than last year.
The co-operative’s milk collection for August was 96.7 million kg MS, 4% lower than the same month last season and its season-to-date collection was 130.9m kg MS, 2.8% behind last season.
The colder month affected collections across both North and South Islands. Its North Island milk collection was 71.8m kg MS, 2.3% lower than August last season and its season-to-date collection was 101.7m kg MS, 0.1% ahead of last season.
Central North Island regions saw some heavy rain and damaging winds early in the month and some areas around Auckland received heavy rain causing flooding at the end of the month. Overall, however, North Island rainfall was near normal for August.
South Island milk collection was 24.9m kg MS, 8.7% lower than August last season. Season-to-date collection was 29.2m kg MS, 11.7% behind last season.
Western areas recorded well above average rainfall for August, with multiple fronts from Fiordland to Farewell Spit. The rest of the South Island experienced more typical August weather than last year, with cold snaps and periods of heavy rain impacting milk production.
Australia milk production decreased 3.5% in July compared to July last year. Wetter and cooler than average winter conditions impacted total milk production. Tasmania and Victoria productions were down 6.5% and 4.5% respectively.
Australia milk production for the 12 months to July was 0.2% higher than last year. That country’s collection for August was 6.8m kg MS, a 5.9% decrease on the same month last season.
The decrease was driven by lower third-party collections compared to August last season. Season-to-date collections reached 12.2m kg MS, 0.8% behind last season.
In the EU and US, milk production decreased 0.3% and increased 1.1% in July and August respectively.
Lower production volumes occurred in France, Netherlands and Germany, while there were slightly higher volumes in Italy and Ireland. EU milk production for the 12 months to July was up 0.2% compared to the same period last year, driven by higher volumes from Ireland, Italy, Poland and Sweden.
In the US, sustained heat in some regions was also a contributor to the lower growth rate. Milk production for the 12 months to August was 2.4% higher compared to the same period last year.
Lower shipment volumes of whole milk powder (WMP) and cheese to China saw New Zealand dairy exports fall 12.9% in August compared to the same period last year. Skim milk powder export volumes to SouthEast Asia continued to grow and partially offsetted the decrease.
Exports for the 12 months to August were up by 4.5%, or 153,458 tonnes, on the previous comparable period, driven by WMP, fluid milk products and cheese.
China dairy import volumes continued to increase by 27.2%, or 77,218t, in August compared to the same period last year, with sustained high demand across most categories. Import volumes of WMP continued to show record levels in August, primarily from NZ.
In Asia excluding China, dairy import volumes decreased 2.8%, or 12,237t, in June compared to the same period last year.
