Prospects for dairy production in 2024

The US Department of Agriculture recently released its latest report on dairy production in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the trends driving trading.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the 2023 financial year was a challenging one for US dairy exporters, largely due to sluggish economic growth among importers and increased competition from New Zealand and the EU. This was revealed in its latest report on the global trends on the dairy market.

However, the report continues to state a weaker dollar had helped ‘cushion’ losses in price competitiveness. “Throughout the year, export values of non-fat dry milk, cheese and whey remained lacklustre, primarily due to weakening demand in China and Southeast Asia.

“Globally, higher interest rates impacted discretionary spending, particularly affecting dairy consumption, which is not a traditional staple of Asian diets,” says the report. However, despite this, Asia remains the most significant growth region for major exporter 

In 2024, it is expected that US exporters will follow similar challenges.

“A combination of factors has impacted demand in key markets in Asia in 2023 and [are] expected to continue into 2024. In 2023, after the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, governments were under pressure to rein in fiscal spending and temper aggregate demand to combat a high level of inflation. Central banks have raised interest rates to increase the cost of credit, leading to slowing private business investment for manufacturing exports in markets like the Philippines and Thailand. The resulting slowing of GDP and income growth has had spillover effects on discretionary spending.