Differences in sensory profiles of sheep, goat and cow milk

Abstract

The emerging New Zealand dairy sheep sector has experienced very strong growth in the past 5-10 years. Increasing interest in non-bovine milks globally provides an export opportunity, particularly to Asia due to perceived nutritional and health benefits. On a global level, New Zealand is a small participant, producing just 0.1% of the total global volume of sheep milk. Current New Zealand exports of sheep milk products are valued at about $20 million. Expanding the industry through the production of high value products such as infant formula has potential to increase the sector's export to $250 million in 2024 (Hales et al. 2020).