New Zealand doesn't have the United States right next door to happily dump subsidized dairy on them to eliminate competition.
And given that the costs of production between Canada and the US are quite similar (Canada is about 10% higher), there's zero chance that efficiency improvements could come anywhere close to overcoming the benefit of subsidization that US farms receive. Particularly given that California (which relies heavily on undocumented workers) is the only reason that US milk production is any cheaper than Canada. If you exclude California, the average cost to produce 100L of milk is $71 USD, vs. $69 USD in Canada.
And of course, much like other commodities, lower cost of production doesn't mean a cheaper price for consumers. New Zealanders pay the same for milk that Canadians do. Right now, the retail price for milk in New Zealand is about $1.70-2.15 CAD/L depending on the quantity at discount supermarkets. In Canada, it's about $1.40-2.40/L where I live.
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