Bega Group asks FNQ dairy farmers to increase milk production

This measure is driven by the company's desire to reduce its dependence on milk supplies from Victoria. Local producers have welcomed the news, but note that achieving this goal will require additional farms and adjustments to pricing policy. In particular, to ensure sustainable production growth, proposals have been made to increase prices and reinstate the diesel levy that was previously abolished.

At the same time, the situation in other regions is different: dairy farmers in southern Queensland are facing difficulties in securing milk supply contracts. Due to Victoria's proximity to southern processing plants, transportation from there is cheaper, forcing local producers to compete for processing capacity. Delivering milk to northern Queensland is significantly more expensive than to the south-east.

Earlier this year, the organization eastAUSmilk presented a development plan for the Queensland dairy industry. In addition, Bega announced the construction of a new cold chain storage facility in Cairns, which will be able to hold approximately 50 percent more milk than the existing facility in Malanda. According to company representatives, at times due to a lack of space at the plant, milk had to be shipped from Far North Queensland to Brisbane.

Industry representatives note positive trends associated with attracting the younger generation to agribusiness. Taking part in such initiatives is the Dairy Pathways group in Malanda, which works to attract new personnel to the land to organize dairy farming and provide the enterprise with the necessary volumes of raw materials.