Dairy Australia’s latest Situation and Outlook report says national production is down 4.8 per cent, with Victoria’s year-to-date production down 6.1 per cent. Victoria produced 534.1 million litres of milk in December, down 8.8 per cent compared to the previous year.
The effects of significant seasonal difficulties were shown in particular in East Gippsland and northern Victoria.
Northern Victoria’s milk production in December fell 22.6 per cent, to 142.9 million litres.
The region’s total year-to-date production is 899.5 million litres, down 14.7 per cent.
In eastern Victoria the December milk production totalled to 200.4 million litres, a loss of 3 per cent.
The year-to-date total sits at 1123.5 million litres, falling 2.5 per cent.
Western Victoria produced 190.9 million litres of milk in December, down 1.9 per cent.
The year to date total of milk produced is 1244.1 million litres, down 2.2 per cent.
Dairy Australia senior industry analyst John Droppert said growth in markets such as China and Japan provided some comfort for the Australian dairy industry.
“It’s easy to lose sight of the positive in an environment of rising costs of production, a challenging domestic market and tough seasonal conditions,” he said.
