Australian Dairy Conference 2024: NZ imports and Aus farmgate

The influx of New Zealand dairy produce into Australia isn’t new, but the volumes in Australian refrigerators certainly is. See how the sector is being affected.

New Zealand dairy’s presence in Australian supermarket refrigerators is a growing challenge for farmers and processors alike, Jo Bills says.

The EverAg global insights director joined a panel of experts at the 2024 Australian Dairy Conference, which wrapped up on Wednesday.

A wave of cheap NZ imports has been churning up Australia’s dairy industry for the past 12 to 18 months, coinciding with rampant retail inflation.

Ms Bills said the challenge posed by cut-priced Kiwi butter and cheese would persist through 2024, even as inflation eases along the retail chain.

“Where consumers can see a branded product, they often have a preference for an Australian product,” the ADC board member said.

“But with generic cheese and butter, price is the key consideration for the consumer. If they’re presented with a cheap Australian block of cheese against an even cheaper block of New Zealand cheese, then more often than not, they will buy the NZ version.

“With price pressures the way they are at the moment, there’s less of a preference given to the provenance of the product. We can’t ignore that our competitors have high standards of production, so we can’t rely on that homegrown advantage.”

EverAg global insights director Jo Bills.

New Zealand farmers have struggled this season with dismal farmgate prices due to a deflated international market.

But North Waikato farmer Chris Falconer, who was also a speaker at this week’s ADC in Melbourne, said the Kiwi farmgate price was starting to rally.

On Monday, Fonterra lifted its midpoint by 30 NZ cents to $NZ7.80 ($A7.33) per kilo milk solids.

Mr Falconer said while the NZ price was still roughly $2 per kilo milk solids lower than Australia, it was certainly an improvement on figures seen in mid 2023.

“There’s a lot more positivity in NZ dairy this year. The GDT (Global Dairy Trade) has been on the way up since Christmas and we’re hoping that trend continues,” the NZ farmer said.