News Milk supply
Milk supply EU: Growth in Poland, contraction in Ireland
The milk supply in Europe in the first months of this year is almost the same as last year. The differences between the Member States are considerable, according to figures from Eurostat.
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The Netherlands is one of the countries where milk production has fallen, just like Germany and France. Ireland's milk has also been below last year's level for several months. That is striking, because Ireland was actually one of the growers. In the first quarter, supply was 0,8% below last year's level, which was partly the result of a dry spring.
'Drought' is also a theme in France. In addition, milk production is under pressure due to retiring dairy farmers. On balance, production fell by 1,2% in the first quarter.
Growing islands
Poland and Italy are countries with a serious milk pool, where production is showing growth. In Poland, supply was even 3,1% above last year's level, probably due to higher milk prices. Italian dairy farmers increased production by 1,1%. It is also striking that production in the Baltic states is on the rise, but these countries do not account for much of the total European milk pool.