Browse Data and Analysis

New Zealand fluid milk production is forecasted to be 21.3 million metric tons (MMT) in the 2025 market year (MY).

FAS/Wellington 2025 market year production forecast would be the highest annual production on record, If realized. In addition, post is forecasting that beef and veal exports in 2025 to also be the highest volume for New Zealand in a single year.

New Zealand fluid milk production is forecasted to be 21.2 million metric tons (MMT) in the 2024 market year (MY). This is a decrease on the previous 5-year average of ~21.6 MMT, reflecting the decreasing herd numbers and the short-term effects of the following: El Niño weather pattern, softening revenue, high cost of debt servicing, and challenging feed and fertilizer prices.

Following a gradual decline in the national cattle herd over the previous years, breeding cow numbers for beef and dairy are looking to stabilize in 2024. At the end of 2023, a new national coalition government was elected.

New Zealand fluid milk production in 2024 is forecast to decline by 0.5 percent to 21.4 million metric tons (MMT). This situation results from recent decreases in farm gate milk price forecasts, as well as rising interest rates, which are expected to...

Since reaching peak numbers in 2016, the New Zealand national cattle herd has been gradually declining, and this is expected to continue in 2024.

FAS/Wellington’s New Zealand milk production forecast is raised for 2023 to 21.5 million metric tons (MMT) as a result of favorable pasture growing conditions entering the year and strong milk production during the first four months of 2023.

Since hitting peak numbers in 2016, the New Zealand national cattle herd has been very gradually declining and this is expected to continue in 2023.

With the start of 2023, New Zealand has begun to experience a nation-wide egg shortage, which follows price rises for eggs during the last year. Contributing factors for the price increase and supply shortfall are labor shortages in laying operations...

New Zealand is by far the largest exporter of deer meat and products in the world. The first commercial deer farm in New Zealand was established in the early 1970s and since then, the industry has grown into an on-average NZ$280 million (US$175 million) per year export earner for the country’s agricultural sector.

New Zealand is the second largest exporter of lamb meat in the world, only slightly below Australia, and also one of the top exporters of wool. Today the national sheep herd is far less than half of its peak of approximately over 70 million in the 1980s, having declined to only 26 million today. Despite the national flock continuing to decline, during the last decade meat production and exports have remained stable.

New Zealand milk production is forecasted to fall slightly in 2023. Although milk prices are at extremely high levels and expected to remain elevated, a number of issues are limiting the production response. This includes a slowly declining national herd, and also that on-farm inflation is expected to remain high as a result of the weak NZ dollar impacting imported input prices, as well as strong global fuel prices.