News Milk
Italian livestock farmer wants to benefit from dairy market
Italian dairy farmers seem to be giving full throttle as international dairy prices reach historic highs. A relatively tight supply of milk is one of the reasons for the good market conditions, but there is no such thing as a tight milk supply in Italy.
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Italian livestock farmers significantly increased milk production in October. A total of 1.026.840 tons of milk were supplied to the processing companies. That is about 84.000 tons more than in October 2020, a plus of 8,2%. In October 2020, the milk supply in the country was 942.350 tons of milk. Since milk prices started to rise this spring, Italian livestock farmers have increased the volume considerably.
Figures slightly flattered
The year-over-year increase may be somewhat flattering. Last year, dairy farmers called on farmers to moderate milk production. At the time of the first corona wave, there was less demand for dairy products. The Italian volume then became somewhat smaller fairly quickly. Yet the growth this year is so great that milk production is also well above the five-year average. The five-year average milk production for October is 959.210 tons. This means that this year's production is about 65.000 tons higher, or 6,7%.
Stimulating cheese export
The Italian processors mainly benefit from strong exports of cheeses. This most important Italian dairy product saw a gain of 11% in the period January to September. With this, 391.000 tons of cheese crossed the border.