Dairy Australia: Australian dairy farmers returns $6.1 billion in 2022-23

Dairy farmgate returns hit $6.1 billion last year, after a 24 per cent jump, but higher costs are putting pressure on profits.

New data released by Dairy Australia today confirms the national farmgate figure edged close to $6.1 billion in 2022-23, a 24 per cent jump from $4.9 billion in the 2021-22 financial year.

The Australian Dairy Industry in Focus report calculated the average farmgate price at $9.80 per kilogram of milk solids, with a shortage of supply forcing processors to nail down supply.

Dairy Australia industry analyst Isabel Dando said the $6.1 billion farmgate value meant the dairy sector was the third largest rural industry nationally.

She said the vast majority of farmers reported that they made an operating profit, with profitability at an all-time high in some regions.

“We saw historically high farmgate prices over the 2022-23 season, driven by competition for milk supply among processors,” Ms Dando said.

“However, depending on the region, many farmers faced challenging seasonal conditions with floods in parts of NSW, Queensland and Victoria.”

The annual review confirmed Australia’s milk pool fell to a 30-year low last financial year, clocking in at 8.129 billion litres.

The last time the national pool was around that figure was back in the 1994-95 season, when it tallied at 8.2 billion litres.

“Roughly 20 years ago, the milk destined for export was about 50 per cent of all milk produced in Australia,” Ms Dando said. “Today, that export figure is about 30 per cent of all milk produced in 2022-23. That’s been a long-term shift.”

Alex Sinnott, The Weekly Times, 15 November 2023.

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