Near record high milk prices in Australia are hitting the country’s dairy exporters as Asian food companies ditch local products for cheaper supply from New Zealand and further abroad.

Farmgate prices hit an all-time high of $9.93kg per milk solid in the 2022/23 season, and while they have dipped back to $9.44, they are still 40 per cent above the five-year average. That has pushed supermarket prices higher, with a bottle of milk jumping 13 per cent over the past year which was more than any other food group, according to Dairy Australia.