US dairy production slowly gaining pace

United States and European Union dairy production figures are slowly increasing after many months in decline, signalling a supply-side change in global dairy markets. In the US, dairy production rose 0.8% in December 2022, compared with the same month a year earlier, and production for the calendar year 2022 was up 0.2% compared with 2021. That is the sixth consecutive month of small increases compared with eight previous months of decline. EU production rose 1.7% in October, the latest month for which figures have been published, and the 12-month change is minus 0.4%. According the Fonterra’s Global Dairy Update (GDU) published on January 31, Australia’s milk production was down 9.7% in November and down 6.2% in the 12 months to end November. “A significantly wetter and colder spring materially impacted the availability and quality of pasture, silage and hay,” the GDU says. “Summer conditions have been more favourable and milk production is beginning to stabilise through December ...