The volume of global dairy trade is growing at a faster pace than global milk production, and Europe is being outstripped by Australia and New Zealand on the world stage, according to Dairy Markets a new report from Rabobank in the UK.

"Changes in this landscape of global dairy trade are occurring slowly but surely, driven to a large extent by political measures as well as by individual company ambitions," the report says. Since 1995 the EU's global market shares have been on the decline for all dairy products except for whey. The report adds that European traders have anticipated this trend by stretching their sourcing network beyond EU borders while European processors are increasingly opting for direct investments in new growth markets instead of addressing these markets through exports.