In its November 2011 Rural Commodities report, the NAB said that it expects Australian dairy production to reach 9.3bn litres in 2011-12, as a result of favourable conditions and healthy water storage levels along the east coast.
The NAB report noted that while production is lifting, the 2011-12 outlook is only consistent with what is considered an average season.
NAB’s Agribusiness general manager, Khan Horne, said: “Industry confidence is still somewhat tentative, given the impact of floods in early 2011, as well as the impact of milk price discounting and the fact that the industry has only recently emerged from drought conditions.
“Added to that, global economic uncertainty is likely to weigh on industry confidence. Taken together, we don’t expect to see too much in the way of expanded production beyond the current season. Many producers will be tempted to use improved cash flow to pay down debt rather than expand capacity.”
Source: NAB
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