Australian farmers applaud success of fresh milk export trial to China

BRISBANE - The Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation (QDO) has welcomed an initiative by farmer-owned co-operative Norco which slashes the time taken to land fresh milk in China from between 14 and 21 days (which consumed most of the milk’s effective shelf life) down to as little as seven days. Processor Norco is working in conjunction with industry group Dairy Connect NSW, and international exporting company PGS on the project.

“This could be a real game-changer,” QDO President Brian Tessmann said, “especially for the northern dairy industry, including NSW and Queensland, where we predominantly specialise in fresh drinking milk production for the domestic market - and currently have very limited capacity for other export avenues, such as milk powder or cheese.
“With the news that Norco is planning commercial shipments of fresh milk soon, this will help open another, potentially major high value, export door for Norco farmers.
“Most importantly, we hope that it starts the much needed path of diversification of markets for the northern dairy industry. The Northern dairy industry desperately needs new market avenues that help farmers gain better returns at farm gate, create more competition for Queensland fresh milk, and challenge the ‘milk price war’ and supermarkets selling fresh milk at the ridiculous price of $1 per litre which has caused market failure in our region.”
Tessmann said that the industry was realistic that fresh milk exports to Asia would not solve the challenges facing the industry overnight, but he also pointed to the enormous potential in the growing Asian middle class. www.qff.org (ATI).