Australian dairy exports 2023-24: Indonesia, Malaysia open as China eases

China has long been Australia’s dominant dairy buyer. But a swag of other nations are increasingly hungry for our butter and cheese.

China’s consumption of Australian dairy has dropped dramatically – but a multitude of new markets are more than making up the shortfall.

That’s the snapshot from the latest Dairy Australia statistics which show China still dominates in purchasing power when it comes to Australian milk, cheese and butter, but not to same extent as previous financial years.

About 26 per cent of all exported Australian dairy went to China last financial year, equating to 185,646 tonnes with a value of more than $A1 billion.

Dairy Australia’s Greater China category includes the former British colony Hong Kong and former Portuguese colony Macau, both integrated into the wider Chinese economy since the late 1990s but sometimes classified separately from the mainland.

Japan was the silver medallist on the export league table with 71,687 tonnes to the value of $A477m while Singapore was bronze medallist in volume at 65,052 tonnes but further behind in value at $A199m.

Dairy Australia sustainability manager Charles McElhone said the weakening Australian dollar this financial year would aid exports into 2025.

“The big shift in exports we saw last financial year was the decrease in exports to China. It’s still our largest market in volume and value but we’re down from 38 per cent of all exports in previous seasons to below 30 per cent now,” he said.

“That (shortfall) was more than picked up in other markets, particularly southeast Asia.

“Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are all areas of growth for Australian dairy this financial year and next financial year. Those countries are really beginning on their dairy consumption journey.”

China’s share of Australian dairy exports declined last financial year. (Photo: Julian Andrews).

Rounding off the top 10 destinations for Australian dairy by volume in the past financial year were Indonesia with 60,211 tonnes exported, Malaysia fifth on the league table with 53,283 tonnes, Philippines sixth at 46,194 tonnes, Thailand seventh at 37,185 tonnes, Vietnam eighth at 30,704 tonnes, New Zealand ninth at 23,228 tonnes and South Korea rounding out the top 10 at 21,840 tonnes.

Australian Dairy Farmers president and farmer Ben Bennett from Pomborneit said primary producers were supportive of export market diversification following four turbulent years of Canberra-Beijing relations.

“China remains a good market for us but we’ve all learned you can’t put all your eggs in the one basket,” Mr Bennett said.