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The Fonterra factory in Edgecumbe, New Zealand is installing a new butter line that will increase its capacity from 4,500t to 7,000t. In its Global Dairy Update, Fonterra said this development is to meet increased demand from Chinese consumers.
This is in part driven by social media in China which is promoting a chocolate croissant-type product known as "Muddy Buns", "Dirty Dirty Bread" or "Zang Zang Bao".
Chinese dairy imports for the 12 months to March 2018 were up 17%, or 349,000t, compared with the same period the previous year. However, demand for dairy was largely unchanged in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
European exports of dairy were up by 7%, or 341,000t, for the 12 months to February 2018. There was growth for all categories in terms of exports apart from caseinate and butter. Dairy exports from the US, Australia and New Zealand were up by 8%, 7% and 1% respectively to the year ending May 2018.
In the same period Australian, European and Australian production rose by 3%, 3% and 1% respectively. However, New Zealand's production was unchanged. EU production was driven by increased output from Germany, while in the US production per cow increased by 7kg to 931kg.
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