World milk production to grow 2% in 2014

World milk production is expected to increase by 2% this year, compared with 2013, hitting 783m tonnes, said the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Most of the increased production is forecast to come from Asian countries, although this is not expected to meet the growing demand.

Meanwhile, FAO’s dairy price index fell sharply in April by 17 points (6%) compared with March, attributed to strong global milk production and a slowdown in import purchasing from countries including China and Russia, following a year of high prices.

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The latest price drop could see some buyers return and help stabilise global commodity markets, said DairyCo, with dairy products globally expected to increase by 1.8% over 2013 levels according to FAO.

Powders are forecast to see the largest growth. Already in the first quarter of this year, EU milk powder exports increased 57% on the same quarter in 2013, with boosted trade coming from Algeria, Indonesia and China.