The Austrian Dairy Association (MVÖ) was founded in 1994 in the legal form of an association. Its purpose as an economic union is to represent the interests of the Austrian Dairy Industry in Austria as well as in the European Union and in international organizations dealing with dairy issues. As a link between economic interests of the dairy sector and administration, politics and science, MVÖ operates on various levels and in a broad field.

The managing board of the Austrian Dairy Association currently consists of the President Helmut Petschar, Vice-President Josef Braunshofer and Managing Director Johann Költringer.

With a turnover of about 4,4 billion EURO, the dairy sector belongs to the most important branches of the Austrian Food Industry. The processing and marketing of its high quality products guarantees the income of the mostly small structured family farms. In Austria Dairy is an important part of the agriculture and the food industry. Austrian dairy products are well known for their high standards in quality and sustainability.

Austria is a dairyland with a great tradition. Dairy is a substantial part of nutritition in Austria. Dairy in Austria is mostly located in mountain and less favoured areas. It is the economic basis for more than 20.000 families living there. Without dairy there would be no grassland, no meadows and no alps, which is the basis for the tourist industry in the countryside, a very important part of the Austrian economy. More than 6000 employees are processing the high quality raw milk to the various dairy products. Their high quality standards are regularly  proven within several quality championships.

Members of MVÖ are the large Austrian dairy companies of the cooperative and private sector, which market more than 85 % of the Austrian milk used for processing.

In 1995, when Austria joined the European Union, MVÖ became a full member of the European Dairy Association (EDA) and cooperates with several other dairy, food and agricultural organizations.

MVÖ has its headquarter in Vienna. The MVÖ-Office is located in the Austrian Raiffeisen Association, which MVÖ became a member of in 1996.