Milk production in New Zealand
New Zealand: Milk production was 21.53 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
21.53 million tonnes
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
11th
of 192 countries
All-time high
21.95 million tonnes
in 2018
All-time low
5.22 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Milk production in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 21.53 million tonnes for milk production in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, milk production in New Zealand peaked at 21.95 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 5.22 million tonnes, in 1961.
That places New Zealand 11th out of 192 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Milk production in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5.22 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 5.22 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 5.35 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 5.52 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 1965 | 5.84 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 1966 | 6.13 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 1967 | 6.25 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 6.18 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1969 | 6.46 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 5.99 million tonnes | -7.3% |
| 1971 | 5.96 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 6.24 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1973 | 6.07 million tonnes | -2.8% |
| 1974 | 5.69 million tonnes | -6.3% |
| 1975 | 6.10 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 1976 | 6.56 million tonnes | +7.7% |
| 1977 | 6.65 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 6.08 million tonnes | -8.5% |
| 1979 | 6.37 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 1980 | 6.70 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 1981 | 6.68 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 6.78 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 6.92 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 7.62 million tonnes | +10.2% |
| 1985 | 7.88 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1986 | 8.23 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1987 | 7.29 million tonnes | -11.5% |
| 1988 | 7.75 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 1989 | 7.25 million tonnes | -6.4% |
| 1990 | 7.51 million tonnes | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 7.87 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 1992 | 8.05 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 9.00 million tonnes | +11.8% |
| 1994 | 9.81 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 1995 | 9.29 million tonnes | -5.4% |
| 1996 | 10.01 million tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1997 | 11.06 million tonnes | +10.5% |
| 1998 | 11.38 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 10.88 million tonnes | -4.4% |
| 2000 | 12.24 million tonnes | +12.4% |
| 2001 | 13.12 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 2002 | 13.87 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 14.35 million tonnes | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 15.03 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2005 | 14.64 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 15.17 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 15.62 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 15.22 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 16.48 million tonnes | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 17.01 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 17.34 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 19.13 million tonnes | +10.3% |
| 2013 | 19.47 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 21.32 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 21.94 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 21.18 million tonnes | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 21.46 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 21.95 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 21.79 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 21.87 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 21.89 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 21.05 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 21.25 million tonnes | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 21.53 million tonnes | +1.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 21.53 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.53 million tonnes, 14.1× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 21.53 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29,145 tonnes, 738.8× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.80 million tonnes | 5.22 million tonnes | 6.46 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 6.17 million tonnes | 5.69 million tonnes | 6.65 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.31 million tonnes | 6.68 million tonnes | 8.23 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.49 million tonnes | 7.51 million tonnes | 11.38 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.57 million tonnes | 12.24 million tonnes | 16.48 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.26 million tonnes | 17.01 million tonnes | 21.95 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.52 million tonnes | 21.05 million tonnes | 21.89 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is milk production in New Zealand?
- Milk production in New Zealand was 21.53 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest milk production recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 21.95 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest milk production recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.22 million tonnes in 1961.
- How does New Zealand rank for milk production?
- New Zealand ranks 11th out of 192 countries with data for 2024.
- Is milk production rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Milk production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Milk represents the raw equivalents of all dairy products including cheese, yoghurt, cream and milk consumed as the final product.