Australian milk production continues to grow, with a 2.2% lift in December

Australian milk production continues to grow slowly, defying the trend in some other dairy exporting regions. The latest figures from Dairy Australia reveal milk production grew 2.2 per cent in December compared with the same month the previous year. Year-to-date production was up 2.1pc. Australia leads major global dairy exporting regions - with New Zealand the only other region to record growth in December. New Zealand milk production was up 0.9pc on a litres basis (up 2.6pc on milk solids basis) in December compared with the same period the previous year. The increase in NZ was due to favourable weather conditions supporting pasture growth, Fonterra's said in its January Global Dairy Update. Production in the United States fell 0.3pc in December, according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture. This was mainly due to reduced numbers of cows. The latest data from the European Union reveals milk production decreased 2.3pc in November - driven by big falls in Ireland, ...