Fonterra appears to be taking the brunt of Australia's falling milk production, according to figures released this week.
The company's Global Dairy Update revealed its Australian milk collection in May was down 31.4 per cent on the same time last year.
Its year-to-date collection was down 19.8pc.
These losses were higher than the overall milk production losses in Australia and higher than the losses in any single region.
Dairy Australia's latest milk production report revealed production across the country was down 13.6pc in May and 7.7pc year to date.
Victoria suffered the biggest decline with production there for May down 13.6pc.
But NSW and Queensland have suffered the biggest losses year to date, down 10.5pc and 10.2pc respectively.
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The May figures revealed big losses in Tasmania (down 11.8pc) and South Australia (down 11.4pc), which had been brighter spots earlier in the season.
But Tasmania is still the only region to be ahead of last season with year-to-date production up 0.4pc.
The overall Victorian figures masked major declines in northern Victoria.
Production there was down 29.7pc for May and 19.8pc year-to-date.
Western Victoria was down only 2.2pc in May and 2.9pc year-to-date, while Gippsland was down 10.7pc in May and 5.6pc year-to-date.
Fonterra's Global Dairy Update blamed the decline in its Australian collection on high input costs leading to lower milk production and low farmer confidence.
"Fonterra's share of monthly collection continues to reduce due to poor seasonal conditions and high input costs, leading to an increase in cow cull rates, farm exits in key regions and declining share in a highly competitive market," the report said.
But it did point to some positives in the global outlook, with increased imports in key markets including Asia and Latin America.
This story first appeared on Australian Dairyfarmer