Demand for Australian dairy products booming across the globe

Dairy Australia's sustainable international trade senior manager Catherine Taylor said there was growing international demand for Australian dairy products.

She said it was believed there would be a deficit of up to 30 million tonnes by 2030 across the globe, based on supply and demand.

"Demand is coming from countries that are growing, like in Southeast Asia," Ms Taylor said.

"Other countries, including African countries, also have a growing need for protein and dairy nutrition and there's markets where we have been exporting to, including Japan and China, for decades."

Ms Taylor said about 32 per cent of Australia's milk was currently exported.

She said while countries including Japan and China were processing more of their own milk, demand for Australian products would continue because of the high-cost to those countries to produce it.

Ms Taylor said innovative dairy products from Australia would also continue to be in high demand.

She said the nation had a great reputation for being a reliable supplier of quality products.

In 2023-24, Australian producers exported about $1 billion worth of dairy products to China, $1 billion to Southeast Asia and about $500 million to Japan.

"The Middle East is another one where are dairy products are in demand," she said.

"We find that Australian dairy ends up in about 100 countries."

Ms Taylor said exporting products could be a good way for farmers to add another revenue stream.

"It's important dairy farmers know that export offers very valuable, long-term options," she said.

Ms Taylor said there had been questions asked about whether China's demand would continue.

"China is producing much more milk than it ever has, and the economy is still a bit soft, but it's a long-term game," she said.

"What we will see, I think, is that China will continue demanding high-value added products like cheese or frozen-milk concentrate that they may not be able to supply themselves.

"Producing milk in China is a very expensive thing to do.

"We should be confident that there will always be a demand for Australian dairy."