Drinking Milk Sales
In 2019–20, Australians drank 2,477,000 million litres of cows’ milk.
In Australia, cows’ milk is sold as regular or full cream milk, low-fat milk, skim milk, flavoured milk and ultra heat treatment (UHT) or long life milk.
Regular milk has a milkfat content of between 3.4% and 3.6%, while low-fat and skim milks are modified to contain less than 1.5 per cent and 0.15 percent milkfat, respectively.
The cream removed during modification can be bottled as table cream or manufactured into butter or other dairy products.
The fat and protein composition of milk changes throughout the course of a season. For this reason, most milk is standardised to ensure a consistent taste and nutritional profile all year-round.
Drinking milk generally undergoes further processing in the form of homogenisation, which disperses the fat equally throughout the milk rather than allowing it to separate at the top.
Drinking milk sales by state (million litres)
YEAR |
NSW |
VIC |
QLD |
SA |
WA |
TAS |
AUST |
1989–90 |
582 |
449 |
316 |
150 |
164 |
47 |
1,730 |
1999–00 |
597 |
440 |
383 |
185 |
190 |
48 |
1,933 |
2000–01 |
633 |
456 |
393 |
201 |
20 |
50 |
1,934 |
2001–02 |
625 |
460 |
403 |
186 |
200 |
50 |
1,924 |
2002–03 |
620 |
475 |
404 |
183 |
208 |
52 |
1,942 |
2003–04 |
627 |
476 |
418 |
196 |
212 |
52 |
1,981 |
2004–05 |
641 |
486 |
429 |
200 |
215 |
53 |
2,024 |
2005–06 |
660 |
499 |
444 |
192 |
216 |
50 |
2,061 |
2006–07 |
692 |
510 |
474 |
201 |
226 |
53 |
2,156 |
2007–08 |
682 |
524 |
485 |
205 |
237 |
55 |
2,188 |
2008–09 |
696 |
533 |
495 |
208 |
241 |
56 |
2,229 |
2009–10 |
709 |
545 |
499 |
213 |
247 |
57 |
2,269 |
2010–11 |
715 |
566 |
502 |
213 |
262 |
58 |
2,316 |
2011–12 |
721 |
582 |
531 |
221 |
274 |
58 |
2,387 |
2012–13 |
719 |
600 |
563 |
222 |
280 |
61 |
2.445 |
2013-14 |
711 |
612 |
584 |
221 |
279 |
59 |
2,466 |
2014–15 |
715 |
625 |
581 |
222 |
285 |
61 |
2,489 |
2015-16 |
732 |
637 |
583 |
222 |
285 |
61 |
2,520 |
2016–17 |
723 |
635 |
579 |
227 |
284 |
60 |
2,508 |
2017–18 |
719 |
627 |
583 |
223 |
281 |
60 |
2,493 |
2018–19 |
709 |
637 |
578 |
218 |
276 |
58 |
2,476 |
2019-20 |
690 |
654 |
578 |
215 |
285 |
55 |
2,477 |
Drinking milk sales by type (million litres)
YEAR |
Regular |
Reduced |
Low-Fat |
Flavoured |
UHT |
Total |
1989–90 |
1,257 |
322 |
- |
111 |
40 |
1,730 |
1999–00 |
1,099 |
498 |
- |
173 |
164 |
1,933 |
2000–01 |
1,094 |
415 |
95 |
165 |
165 |
1,934 |
2001–02 |
1,074 |
435 |
105 |
170 |
140 |
1,924 |
2002–03 |
1,055 |
440 |
120 |
174 |
153 |
1,942 |
2003–04 |
1,057 |
462 |
118 |
190 |
154 |
1,981 |
2004–05 |
1,063 |
492 |
116 |
199 |
154 |
2,024 |
2005–06 |
1,092 |
488 |
124 |
201 |
155 |
2,061 |
2006–07 |
1,107 |
530 |
124 |
214 |
182 |
2,156 |
2007–08 |
1,119 |
552 |
122 |
213 |
183 |
2,188 |
2008–09 |
1,136 |
570 |
117 |
210 |
196 |
2,229 |
2009–10 |
1,134 |
592 |
117 |
215 |
211 |
2,269 |
2010–11 |
1,140 |
632 |
109 |
227 |
208 |
2,316 |
2011–12 |
1,160 |
679 |
104 |
236 |
208 |
2,387 |
2012–13 |
1,172 |
690 |
100 |
240 |
243 |
2,445 |
2013-14 |
1,193 |
690 |
93 |
240 |
250 |
2,466 |
2014–15 |
1,244 |
661 |
87 |
240 |
257 |
2,489 |
2015-16 |
1,311 |
617 |
80 |
246 |
266 |
2,520 |
2016–17 |
1,365 |
567 |
71 |
247 |
257 |
2,507 |
2017–18 |
1,397 |
538 |
64 |
242 |
252 |
2,493 |
2018–19 |
1,411 |
519 |
63 |
234 |
249 |
2,476 |
2019-20 |
1,400 |
513 |
69 |
227 |
268 |
2,477 |