Global dairy markets are facing mounting pressure as lower milk prices collide with still-elevated production costs. According to Rabobank, the entire dairy value chain is under strain, from farmers and cooperatives to processors and consumers, as weaker commodity markets erode profitability. Milk production in the world’s main exporting regions is beginning to recover after a weak 2022, but the increase is arriving at a difficult moment. Rabobank expects milk output in the “Big 7” exporting countries to rise 0.7% in 2023, although that forecast has been reduced from the previous 1% estimate due to higher culling in the United States and weather-related setbacks in New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina. At farm level, dairy producers are being squeezed by a combination of falling farmgate milk prices and persistently high feed and input costs. Rabobank says those pressures are already driving more dairy cow slaughter as farmers attempt to control losses and protect cash flow. Smaller ...