News

South Australia’s dairy producers are milking the rewards as the state records a 23 per cent increase in dairy exports, valued at $152.7 million to May 2024.

The latest trade data released earlier this month, shows that South Australia exported 31.3 million kilograms of dairy products.

All dairy products experienced growth in volume and FOB value, including:

• Cheese – up 40.5 per cent to $71.4 million
• Milk – up 4.6 per cent to $66.6 million
• Dairy other – up 39.9 per cent to $12.7 million
• Butter – up 1,316.1 per cent to $1.8 million
• Eggs – up 21.1 per cent to $.3 million.

The top dairy exports include:

• Cheese to the Philippines (up 18.4 per cent to $20.8 million), China (up 93.2 per cent to $15.9 million) and Thailand (up 6.8 per cent to $13.3 million)
• Milk to Thailand (up 160.5 per cent to $23.4 million), Indonesia ($22.7 million) and China ($8.8 million).
  

The latest monthly export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that the state’s overall merchandise exports reached $17.6 billion in the 12 months to May 2024.

Exports to China reached a record high of $4.02 billion, driven by a $203 million surge in wine sales since the lifting of trade tariffs and release of the South Australian Government $1.85 million investment in the Wine Exporter China Re-Engagement Support Package.

“We first connected with the TradeStart team almost 10 years ago when we were looking at the opportunity that China provided us with for export,” said Mr Brandon Reynolds, COO, The Yoghurt Shop. “I’ve found working with our TradeStart advisers to be nothing short of excellent, one particular thing I have enjoyed about working with our advisers is their real-world experience that they brought to the role.

“Having access to advice on international markets has given us an edge over producers internationally, and even over those of our interstate colleagues, because the TradeStart advisers are consistently across market changes, opportunities and development.

“Without our TradeStart advisers, we would not have been able to achieve the success we have in our export markets.”

Kris Lloyd AM, CEO and Head Cheese Maker at Woodside Cheese Wrights agrees.

“Woodside Cheese Wrights currently exports to the US, with a unique range of cheese products that demonstrate our place, Australia, with thoughtful use of Native Australian ingredients. This is supported by the excellence of our local biosecurity, the enabler to start our process with world-class milk, identifying the source at every level.

“Our recent contracts with Wholefood Markets and Costco in the US are a testament to the appeal of our products in these highly contested markets. We look forward to continuing our work with TradeStart to enable our continued growth and successful export journey.