Victoria Commits $250,000 to Dairy Export Push as State Shipments Reach $2.79 Billion
The Victorian Government has announced $250,000 for the Growing Demand for Victorian Dairy Exports Program, matched by Dairy Australia for a combined $500,000. The money funds scholarships and international seminars aimed at Greater China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Victoria supplies around 74 per cent of Australia's dairy exports by value, worth $2.79 billion in 2024-25.
Victoria has signed a new partnership with Dairy Australia to help more of the state's dairy businesses reach buyers overseas, Mirage News reported. Minister Settle announced $250,000 for the Growing Demand for Victorian Dairy Exports Program, channelled through the state trade agency Global Victoria, with the national industry services body matching the contribution.
Public money matched by the industry body
The state contribution of $250,000 was matched dollar for dollar by Dairy Australia, taking the combined budget to $500,000. The funding sits inside the Victorian Government's $10 million Food and Fibre Exports Program Regional Package, a wider scheme covering the state's agricultural and food export sectors and aimed at regional producers.
The money will fund market development rather than production infrastructure or processing capacity. Two lines of activity are covered: bringing international buyers into direct contact with Australian dairy systems, and presenting Victorian supply to those buyers in their own markets.
- The Dairy Australia Scholarships Program, including the Victorian-based visit program and ongoing engagement with the alumni network.
- International seminars showcasing Australian dairy production and innovation to overseas audiences.
Greater China, Japan and Southeast Asia in focus
The program targets trade relationships across Greater China, Japan and Southeast Asia, markets Mirage News describes as crucial to Victoria's dairy export success and future growth. Participants from those markets travel to Victoria each year to examine Australian dairy farming practices, manufacturing operations and food safety systems at first hand.
The scholarship scheme is not new. It has operated for more than 25 years and has produced more than 950 alumni who now hold influential roles across Asia. For Victorian processors and exporters, that network works as a standing channel into buyer-side decision making and as a source of intelligence on consumer demand, market trends and emerging trade opportunities. Building distribution in dairy depends heavily on trust in food safety and traceability, and plant visits remain one of the few ways to demonstrate both.
Victoria's weight in national dairy trade
Victoria accounts for around 74 per cent of Australia's dairy exports by value. In 2024-25, Victorian dairy exports were valued at $2.79 billion. That concentration makes the state's performance close to a proxy for the national export book, and it also means a demand shift in any single Asian market passes through to Victorian processors and farmgate returns faster than it does elsewhere in Australia.
Set against exports of that size, the $250,000 state commitment is a market-development instrument rather than a capital one: it does not add milk volume, plant capacity or cold-chain assets. Its effect, if any, will show up in which markets Victorian product reaches and at what price, not in how much of it leaves the country.
"This partnership will help our producers and exporters expand into key international markets, unlocking new trade opportunities, growing exports and supporting jobs and economic growth across regional Victoria," said Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Natalie Suleyman, as quoted by Mirage News. She added that the Victorian Government and Dairy Australia have maintained a long-standing partnership that has supported the state's dairy industry in taking advantage of commercial opportunities globally and in driving demand and value for its products.
