New Zealand’s dairy exports accelerate in August

The third month of the 2026/27 milk season saw milk production increase by 2.28%, or 33 million kilo of milk. Year-to-date production through August is up 4.99%, equivalent to an increase of 523 million kilo. Milk production in New Zealand - Thousand tons Month 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% 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% August 1,445 1,478 33 2.28% Total 10,476 10,999 523 4.99% Following relatively modest growth of 5.41% in July, after three consecutive months of double-digit growth, exports increased by 14.45% in August, equivalent to 125 million kilo LME. Most product categories recorded growth, with the exceptions of BMP, acid casein, WPC80/WPI, lactose, infant formula, butter, AMF, and condensed milk. New Zealand dairy exports August Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% WMP 45,290 54,999 9,709 21.44% SMP 14,523 21,404 6,881 47.38% BMP 1,235 1,141 -94 -7.61% Whey 373 3,381 3,008 806.43% Acid casein 5,213 3,734 -1,479 -28.37% Rennet Casein 1,019 1,084 65 6.38% Caseinates 2,110 2,342 232 11.00% WPI/WPC > 80% 1,096 954 -142 -12.96% Lactose 2,530 1,321 -1,209 -47.79% Infant Formula 7,477 6,154 -1,323 -17.69% Butter 14,802 13,710 -1,092 -7.38% AMF 7,855 6,723 -1,132 -14.41% Cheese 18,364 22,795 4,431 24.13% Milk 19,590 19,926 336 1.72% Condensed 1,521 893 -628 -41.29% Cream 15,992 17,759 1,767 11.05% The year-to-date results through August broadly reflect the trends observed during August alone. In addition to the declines recorded for the individual month, however, the year-to-date figures also show decreases in rennet casein and milk. As of August, year-to-date export volume is up 10.56%, equivalent to 1.413 billion kilo LME (Liquid Milk Equivalent). New Zealand dairy exports YTD August Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% WMP 845,766 979,653 133,887 15.83% SMP 273,141 305,885 32,744 11.99% BMP 21,386 25,018 3,632 16.98% Whey 8,233 14,969 6,736 81.82% Acid casein 27,173 26,798 -375 -1.38% Rennet Casein 14,195 12,741 -1,454 -10.24% Caseinates 22,478 22,572 94 0.42% WPI/WPC > 80% 15,795 16,873 1,078 6.82% Lactose 21,129 17,276 -3,853 -18.24% Infant Formula 67,892 60,165 -7,727 -11.38% Butter 174,860 319,382 144,522 82.65% AMF 131,860 127,924 -3,936 -2.98% Cheese 282,520 296,627 14,107 4.99% Milk 159,144 139,649 -19,495 -12.25% Condensed 17,320 13,821 -3,499 -20.20% Cream 131,480 153,504 22,024 16.75% On the import side, year-to-date volumes remain lower across all product categories, although August showed an increase in relative volumes compared with July. New Zealand dairy imports YTD August Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% Whey 0404.10 6,894 7,118 224 3.25% Cheese 0406 6,912 9,511 2,598 37.59% Lactose 1702.11 & 19 64,966 71,992 7,026 10.82% Through August, total New Zealand imports of the products covered increased from 50 million kilo LME in July to 67 million kilo LME in August. On a year-to-date basis, this moved the comparison from 9.70% in July to 11.68% in August.By the end of August, theoretical stocks had decreased from 1.57 billion kilo LME at the start of the year to 743 million kilo LME, representing a decline of 47.47%. This is equivalent to 6.76% of New Zealand’s year-to-date milk production through August 2026.This stock level remains relatively high, largely due to increased milk production. However, the increase in exports was nearly three times the increase in milk production, helping to offset the additional supply.