News Milk
Belgian dairy sells 30% more in the UK after Brexit
The Belgian dairy industry seems to be one of the few players in the EU that has sold more product to the United Kingdom after Brexit. The EU as a whole actually sold less to the UK. For the rest, the turnover of Belgian dairy last year remained the same as in 2020.
This was reported by Managing Director Renaat Debergh on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Belgian dairy umbrella organization BCZ/CBL.
Investments to record
On the one hand, he sees gratifying developments, because in a turbulent environment, the Belgian dairy industry as a whole managed to keep turnover stable at €5,4 billion, managed to keep pace in a market in which all prices rose at a rapid pace, but saw they also have room to make additional investments. Last year, these investments increased by 23% to a total of €170 million, a record for Belgium.
Up to 20% less milk due to nitrogen rules
On the other hand, there are concerns about the consequences of the Flemish nitrogen policy for dairy farming and the dairy industry in that part of the country, the BCZ director indicated. If the plans of the Flemish government go ahead - with which the dairy industry does not agree - milk production in Flanders is expected to fall by 20%, the self-sufficiency rate will fall below 100% and a restructuring of the industry will be necessary, Debergh fears.
Average milk price sharply up
It's not that far yet. The dairy industry is in full swing, although a dairy company (Hollebeekhoeve) went bankrupt in the past year. The BCZ keeps track of each month which is the average mek price paid in Belgium. In the second half of last year, the average milk price paid out in Belgium rose by 29%. The rise in the milk price continued in the first quarter of this year and rose to 40%, notes DeBergh.
Hello retail, hello Jumbo?
Although the dairy market has risen sharply in the past year, DeBergh said it was sour that the domestic market in particular, and especially the retail market, has not kept up with the developments in dairy. Because the higher dairy prices may have risen sharply, but also largely out of necessity, because production costs have risen sharply. Global availability is getting tighter and has been going on for longer than since the Ukraine war. As an example of the lack of understanding and perhaps the unwillingness in the retail sector for the situation in the dairy sector, DeBergh mentioned the Dutch retail chain Jumbo, which had to sell no to customers because it did not want to pay for the dairy that had become more expensive.
Klaas van der Horst
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.