The Dairy Industry

The Australian Dairy Industry

The Australian dairy industry is Australia's largest processed food industry, and ranks in the top four of the nation's rural industries. Australia's climate and natural resources are favourable to dairying and allow production based on year-round pasture grazing. Australia has almost two million dairy cows, producing around 9 billion litres of milk each year.

Australia is one of the world's leading exporters of dairy products, exporting $1.4 billion worth of milk and related products annually. About half of all Australia's milk is exported in some form, be it cheese, milk powder, butter, or lesser known products like casein or whey powder. Over three quarters of Australia's dairy exports go to Asia, where Australia is regarded as one of the region's leading suppliers.