Fonterra's latest monthly dairy update has revealed that the milk collections for the eight months to 31 January was 1,036m kgMS, which was 2% below the same period last year.

The update also shows that the co-op's milk collections for January was 158m kgMS, which was down 8% compared with the same period last year.

Fonterra referenced "difficult weather conditions" for the slump in production, which it says "impacted soil moisture and pasture quality".

Figures also released show that total New Zealand milk production for the eight-month period to the end of January was down 2%, with the month of January seeing production drop by 5% compared to the same month last year.

In contrast, Fonterra's milk collection across Australia for the seven months to the end of January reached 100m kgMS, which is 21% higher than the same period the year before.

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