Dairy herds in Germany shrink, milk supply too

As in the months of January, February and March, the total volume of milk collected in April was below the level of April 2020. In total, processors were offered 2.757.950 tons of milk. That was 0,6% less than in the same month last year. In March the total milk collection was 2.817.020 tons of milk.

Long period below spring level
With the exception of October 2020, German milk supplies have now been below the levels of the previous year since August last year. The German milk pool therefore no longer appears to be growing structurally. This spring there was a lot of criticism from German dairy farmers about the development of milk prices in the country. According to them, the German milk prices paid lag too far behind the internationally sharply increased prices for dairy products. In addition, farmers faced high feed costs. This also does not promote the supply of extra milk.

Number of cows in Germany
The German dairy herd has shrunk further, as recently published figures from the European statistical agency Eurostat make clear. This shows that in December last year there were still 3.921.410 dairy cows on dairy farms in Germany. In 5 years, the number of cows in Germany has decreased considerably. In 2015, the country still had 4.284.640 dairy cattle. This means that the dairy herd in Germany is about 8,5% smaller than 5 years ago.