Seasonality of milk production

Milk production in WA is less seasonal than in other states such as Victoria and Tasmania due to the high proportion of milk consumed as liquid milk domestically and the demand for year-round liquid milk for the export market. In 2006/7, peak milk production occurred in October (10.4%) and the least in February (6.7%) resulting in a peak to trough ratio of 1.6 to 1.

Figure. Seasonality of milk production in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania during 2006/7.

Seasonality of the supply curve in WA reflects a combination of factors including historical pricing signals and changes over the past few years to calving patterns to better reflect pasture growth curves. As a consequence production in spring relative to summer has increased to the extent that demand for processing and manufacture now exceeds supply in the period from January to March resulting in recent price incentives to attract additional production in these months.