New Zealand Dairy Industry Achieves Record Milk Solids Production

New Zealand's dairy sector has recorded an unprecedented production of 2.02 billion kilograms of milk solids in the 2025–2026 season, according to NZX data. This represents a 4.5 percent increase from the previous season and surpasses the previous record set in 2020–2021 by 4.1 percent.

The month of May also saw a record-breaking collection of 108,730,000 kilograms of milk solids, a 5 percent year-on-year rise. In terms of fluid weight, 1,023,000 tonnes were processed, marking a 3.6 percent increase from May 2025.

Throughout the year, New Zealand processed 22,397,000 tonnes of raw milk, exceeding the previous year by 3.6 percent and slightly surpassing the record from May 2021 by 0.3 percent.

Rosalind Crickett, a dairy analyst at NZX, noted that the industry is transitioning from consolidation to aggressive expansion due to strong global dairy prices, favorable climate conditions, and initially low input costs. This financial stability enabled producers to extend milking periods and increase herd sizes.

Capital investments focused on infrastructure and pasture development, including the construction of advanced storage units for supplemental feed. In 2025, New Zealand imported a record 2.6 million metric tonnes of Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE), although a slight decrease of 8.1 percent in PKE imports was observed in the first four months of the current year.

Despite the record production, experts predict a potential near-term decline in exports due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and anticipated climate events, which are expected to affect production in the coming months.