New Zealand dairy exports remain strong in July

New Zealand dairy exports continued to expand in July, supported by another increase in milk production. Export growth remained broad across most dairy products, keeping year-to-date volumes well above last year despite some categories recording declines. The second month of the 26-27 milk season saw a significant increase in milk production of 7,03% or + 22 million kgs Milk. The YTD July production stands at 5.43% or + 490 million kgs. Year to Date Milk production in 1000 mt prev season current season ∆ ∆% January 2.385 2.432 47 1,97% February 1.865 1.977 112 6,01% March 1.763 1.935 172 9,76% April 1.456 1.545 89 6,11% May 987 1.023 36 3,65% June 262 274 12 4,58% July 313 335 22 7,03% YTD May 9.031 9.521 490 5,43% Exports July 2026 July '25 July '26 ∆ ∆% WMP 91.530 95.394 3.864 4,22% SMP 29.911 30.758 847 2,83% BMP 2.539 3.716 1.177 46,36% Whey 508 2.406 1.898 373,62% Acid casein 3.050 5.721 2.671 87,57% Rennet Casein 1.594 1.668 74 4,64% Caseinates 3.705 4.708 1.003 27,07% WPI/WPC > 80% 1.932 1.702 -230 -11,90% Lactose 2.679 1.840 -839 -31,32% Infant Formula 10.315 6.509 -3.806 -36,90% Butter 21.160 22.606 1.446 6,83% AMF 17.757 16.363 -1.394 -7,85% Cheese 34.208 38.652 4.444 12,99% Milk 20.694 20.457 -237 -1,15% Condensed 1.944 1.427 -517 -26,59% Cream 8.355 12.453 4.098 49,05% Following double digit increases in thew previous four months, July booked an increase of +5,41%, or +83 million kgs LME. Most products saw growth, except WPC80/WPI, Lactose, I/F, AMF, Milk, and Condensed. Exports YTD July 2026 July '25 July '26 ∆ ∆% WMP 800.476 924.654 124.178 15,51% SMP 258.618 284.481 25.863 10,00% BMP 20.151 23.877 3.726 18,49% Whey 7.860 11.588 3.728 47,43% Acid casein 21.960 23.064 1.104 5,03% Rennet Casein 13.176 11.657 -1.519 -11,53% Caseinates 20.368 20.230 -138 -0,68% WPI/WPC > 80% 14.699 15.919 1.220 8,30% Lactose 18.599 15.955 -2.644 -14,22% Infant Formula 60.415 54.011 -6.404 -10,60% Butter 160.058 182.281 22.223 13,88% AMF 124.005 121.201 -2.804 -2,26% Cheese 264.156 273.831 9.675 3,66% Milk 139.554 119.723 -19.831 -14,21% Condensed 15.799 13.821 -1.978 -12,52% Cream 115.488 135.745 20.257 17,54% The results through July show that YTD July is a vague echo of the single month June. In addition to the single June figures, however, the YTD July shows an additional decline in Rennet casein and Caseinates. As of July, the Year-to-Date volume stands at +10,31%, equivalent to +1,289 billion kgs in LME (Liquid Milk Equivalent). For imports, which decreased YTD July for all products, we see a small decrease in relative volumes vs June. Imports Year to date July 2026 YTD July '25 YTD July '26 ∆ ∆% Whey 0404.10 5.836 6.653 817 14,00% Cheese 0406 5.904 8.761 2.857 48,39% Lactose 1702.11 & 19 58.117 62.083 3.966 6,82% YTD July, total NZ imports of the above products moved from +10,62% or 46 million kgs LME in June to 8,70% or 50 million kgs LME in July. Year to Date July, theoretical stocks have decreased from a level of 1,57 billion kgs LME at the start of the year, to 817 million kgs LME (a decrease of -47,85%). This amounts to 8,58% of New Zealand milk production Year to Date July ’26. This is on the high side and mostly caused by increased milk production. However, incremental exports amounted by more than double the increase in milk production.