(Reuters) - Milk producer Fonterra <FCG.NZ> <FSF.NZ> said on Friday its New Zealand milk production rose 6 percent in July from a year earlier due to favourable weather conditions, as well as an increased number of farms participating in winter milking.
Fonterra's Australian milk production for June dipped 1 percent from the year earlier period on the back of increased costs for farm inputs such as water, cereals and fodder, the company said in its August global dairy update.
Grain and fodder prices for cattle have increased following a devastating drought in Australia's east coast, the food bowl of the country. The area will experience dry weather for at least the next three months, the country's meteorological bureau forecast on Thursday.
Production from the both the European Union and the United States also increased by 1 percent in June from the year earlier period, the company said.
The company earlier in the day cut its forecast milk price for 2018/19 by 3.6 percent because of increased global supply. Global dairy prices also sank to a nine-month low at a fortnightly auction held last week.
Fonterra's shares were up 0.2 percent, compared to a slightly lower New Zealand benchmark <.NZ50>.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
