production
Production | Export | Cheesemakingthe cheese industry at a glance
Australians consume an average of around 12 kilograms of cheese per head each year, of which more than half are cheddar or cheddar-type cheeses.
Australia now produces more than 100 varieties of cheeses.
Australian cheese exports doubled between 1996 and 2001. More than 60 per cent of annual production is now destined for international markets. This accounts for more than 50 per cent of annual milk production and represents nearly 200,000 tonnes of cheese, with cheddar and cheddar types comprising 60 per cent of this figure.
In 2001/02 Australian dairy exports reached the $3.25 billion mark. Cheese accounted for almost one quarter of dairy export (by volume) in 2001/02, with a value of over $1 billion.
The Australian specialist cheese sector is continuing to expand. In 2000/01 Australia produced an estimated 29,250 tonnes. Specialist cheese production is growing at about 10 percent annually.
Specialist cheese refers to all cheeses other than bulk cheddar and mozzarella.
There are over 90 specialist cheese manufacturers across Australia. Specialist cheese continues the tradition of making cheese by hand.
australian specialist cheese production
Australia is still predominantly a cheddar loving, cheddar consuming nation but, interestingly enough the pattern of Australian cheese production has considerably changed over the last decade. Cheddar output in the past has changed to a more diversified cheese manufacture, with non-cheddar varieties and specialist cheeses growing in volume and commercial value.
Over the past few years, the relative percentage of Cheddar has decreased from 60.7% (176,086 tonnes) in 1996/97 to 54.0% (223,007 tonnes) in 2001/02. In contrast, the tonnages for semi-hard, hard grating, fresh and mould cheeses have increased by 47%, 56%, 104% and 40% respectively as indicated by their tonnages in Table 1.
Table 1 - Australian Cheese Production by Type of Cheese (tonnes)
| Type | 1996/97 | % | 2001/02 | % | % Change | Increase in Tonnes (%) |
| Cheddar | 176,086 | 60.7 | 223,007 | 54.0 | -6.7 | 26.6 |
| Semi-Hard | 63,789 | 22.0 | 93,671 | 22.7 | +0.7 | 46.8 |
| Hard Grating | 9,983 | 3.4 | 15,581 | 3.8 | +0.4 | 56.1 |
| Fresh | 37,504 | 13.0 | 76,665 | 18.6 | +5.6 | 104.4 |
| Mould | 2,632 | 0.9 | 3,686 | 0.9 | 0 | 40.0 |
| Total | 289,994 | 100 | 412,612 | 100 |
Figures of the 2002/03 season are most likely distorted due to the lack of milk available in a severe drought year, and therefore have not been included in this table.
the australian specialist cheese industry
The Australian dairy industry has grown steadily over the past ten years and developed into a major rural industry. Its farm gate value of production in 2001/02 has been valued over $3.7 billion dollars, ranking it third behind the wheat and beef industries. Dairy is also one of Australia's leading rural industries in terms of adding value through further downstream processing and thereby generating industry and employment in country regions. The total employment figure is around 200,000 with a large majority of jobs in rural communities.
At the ex-factory level, industry output was estimated to be over 9 billion dollars in 2001/02. This value has decreased to $8.5 billion dollars in 2002/03 due to the very severe drought experienced in most of the dairy areas and consequential reduction in milk output). However, it is anticipated that this drop of milk output will be overcome and milk production will continue to steadily increase in the long term.
Australia's milk output has almost doubled in the last 12 years increasing from 6.26 billion Litres (1989/90) to 11.27 billion Litres in 2001/02 (and 10.32 billion Litres in 2002/03). Milk production is concentrated in the southeast corner of Australia, with Victoria producing the largest amount of milk (65% of total). The states Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia combined, account for 77% of the total milk output.
The efficiency of the average annual milk production per cow has significantly increased from 3,781 Litres (1989/90) to 5,215 Litres in 2001/02, an increase of around 38%.
About 19% of the total milk generated is used in the drinking milk sector; the remaining 83% is converted into various dairy products (42% cheese, 23% butter/SMP, 15% WMP, 5% casein/butter, 15% others).
Information on non-bovine milks is limited and less accessible than data on cow's milk. The following estimates are given in Table 2.
Table 2
Estimated Annual Production of Non-Bovine Milk in Australia for Year 2001/02 (000 Litres)
| Sheep | Goat | Buffalo | Total |
| ~600 | ~3,000 | ~120 | ~3720 |
| (~16%) | (~81%) | (~3%) | (100%) |
Practically all sheep milk and buffalo milk produced is converted into dairy products (yoghurt, cheese). About half of the goat's milk generated is used as fresh drink milk, mainly on the Eastern shore (Queensland, NSW, Victoria); the other half is converted into dairy products. At present there are two producers of buffalo milk in Australia.
As shown in Table 2, the estimated total amount of non-bovine milk is around 3.7 to 4 million litres per year with goat's milk having the major share of ~80%. However, non-bovine milk represents only about 0.03% of total milk production in Australia. Production of non-bovine milk is expected to double within the next five years. There is an increasing demand for dairy products made from non-bovine milk. These products are high value-added and generate high margins and good returns.
