Australian cheese production is expected to rise in 2025

FAS/Canberra forecasts cheese production to lift to 375,000 MT in 2025, a 2.7% increase on the downward revised 2024 estimate of 365,000 MT, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report. If realised, this would be the third highest level of cheese production on record, but equal to a more recent peak in 2023. The current record of 413,000 MT was set in 2002 when milk production in Australia was at its peak and 24% higher than the forecast production for 2025. The primary reason for the higher expectation is directly related to the small increase in forecast milk production. Over the last decade, there has been a trend of milk processors channeling more and more milk towards cheese production at the expense of other processed dairy products, during which milk production has broadly declined. This trend has plateaued in 2023 and is estimated to dip in 2024 with a rise in SMP and butter production at the expense of ...