Inside Milk
Dutch milk supply is not holding up growth
The Dutch milk supply fell below the level of 2019 for the first time in months in December. Nevertheless, the supply figures for the whole of 2020 are higher...
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Dutch processors collected 1.166.725 tons of milk in December. This is a decrease of 0,25% compared to the same month in 2019. This means that production has shown a decline for the first time in months: in November the lead was still 0,5%, but in the months before that the difference was even greater. The average daily production amounted to 37.636 tons, marking the start of the seasonal production increase. Fat production last month amounted to 53.299 tons.
It is difficult to say where the decline will come from. Rising prices for concentrates may reduce the incentive to 'milk hard'. The average milk price in the Netherlands was €34,05 per 100 kilos in December, excluding bonuses and premiums. This is not a level that motivates to significantly increase production.
Narrow growth in 2020
Now that the supply figures for December are known, the balance for 2020 can be drawn up. In total, the Dutch milk supply amounted to 13,95 million tons, a growth of 1,2% compared to the supply in 2019. The production record remains at 14,29 million tons, which was achieved in 2017, before the introduction of the phosphate rights.