October 19, 2009

Low milk prices have seriously wounded the confidence of dairy producers in Western Australia, with 42 percent of surveyed producers feeling negative about their business, according to a Dairy Australia survey.

The survey showed that 95 percent of 340 surveyed producers across Australia have seen their prices significantly reduced in 2009.

Compared to no respondents considering leaving the industry in March, 10 percent of Western Australian dairy producers expect to leave the dairy industry within three years.

Confidence in the dairy industry has dropped from 72 percent to 62 percent in West Australian respondents.

While there are signs of a recovery in progress, the strong Australian dollar will remain a major threat to the improvement of farmgate prices across Australia, said Dairy Australia.