Australian dairy exports 2024-25: Japan and Vietnam rise on export league table

China is still the dominant destination for Australia’s dairy exports. But newer markets have a growing appetite.

Australia’s dairy export destinations are diversifying, with China making up less than a quarter of sales for the first time in more than a decade.

More than $710 million worth of Australian dairy was sent to China — excluding Hong Kong — between July 2024 and March this year, the latest Dairy Australia statistics confirm.

While sitting comfortably at number one of the export league table, China’s share of exports has weakened in recent years with the industrialisation of southeast Asia fuelling a boom in dairy demand elsewhere.

Silver medallist on the league table for the surveyed nine-month period was Japan, with $417m worth of dairy produce exported, while bronze medallist was Indonesia with $255m sent northwards over the same period.

Dairy Australia analyst Madelyn Irvine said season-to-date, Australian dairy export volumes were up 5.4 per cent.

“This growth has been driven by strong demand from Southeast Asia and Japan, with export volumes up 14 per cent and 21 per cent respectively,” she said.

“While exports to China are down season-to-date, early signs of recovery are emerging year on-year, as local milk production slows, and stockpiles are utilised.”

Rounding off the top 10 are Malaysia ($237m); Vietnam ($166m); Singapore ($158m); Philippines ($136m); New Zealand ($116m); South Korea ($109m) and Taiwan ($67m).

During the 2020-21 coronavirus years, most commodities on the Global Dairy Trade index surged as China stockpiled milk powder.

But the market started to soften in 2022 before dropping precipitously in 2023, Australia’s export competitiveness softening as New Zealand and the United States sought to offload dairy produce in southeast Asia as well as into Australia itself.

Burra chief executive Stewart Carson addressed Dairy Australia’s annual situation and outlook forum recently. He told the audience his export-focused processor was in a different position to domestically-focused equivalents.

“It’s risky to balance out what the future holds, as an ingredients business and an exporter, we play on a global platform,” Mr Carson said.

“We can’t push prices through (to Australian shoppers), like the retail (focused processors).”