Major supermarket chains in Australia have increased the price of private label dairy products due to higher prices to dairy farmers.

Rabo Research expects dairy prices to remain volatile in the coming months, with weak global milk supply drivers supporting prices to remain at elevated levels.

According to senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins of Rabobank New Zealand, Oceania milk supplies have been affected this season. New Zealand milk collections fell 6.5% in May 2022. This brings final counts for the 2021-2022 season to a 4.1 % drop year-on-year.

Australia’s domestic production declined by 6.6 % y-o-y in April 2022. Milk collections stand at -3.4 % for the known season to date. Higgins says there are some positive drivers that should support stabilization of Australia’s milk supply in 2022-2023.

“Volatility will be significant due to lower production as higher farmgate milk prices in most regions have not guaranteed production growth,” Rabobank said.