News Dairy in Numbers
Nitrogen uncertainty depresses Dutch milk production
Three quarters of the dairy products produced in the Netherlands last year were consumed within the Eurozone. This is apparent from figures published last week from trade association ZuivelNL for 2021. The figures show that milk production in the Netherlands is under pressure, partly as a result of the nitrogen uncertainty.
Dairy in Numbers is an annual publication that sheds light on many aspects of the dairy sector, such as economic importance, employment and milk production. Milk production decreased by 2,5% last year to 13,84 billion kilos.
This is actually the first drop in decades. Milk production in the Netherlands also decreased in 2018 and 2019, but that was due to government intervention in phosphate policy. Dairy farmers were then forced to downsize. There was no such requirement last year. According to ZuivelNL, the decline in milk production is due to a combination of factors such as poor roughage quality, high feed and energy prices and uncertainty about nitrogen measures.
Logically, the lower milk supply also puts a brake on dairy production. Consumer milk and dairy (white dairy) are still the largest product category with a produced volume of 1,03 million tons. There is, however, a significant decrease of 6,6% compared to 2020. The distance with cheese (including cottage cheese) is therefore becoming smaller; this volume produced decreased by 1,6% to 955.000 tons. The production figures for butter and skimmed milk powder also fell.
Significantly higher export value
Despite the lower production volumes, the export value increased by almost 9% to €8,2 billion. This is the result of higher market prices. Another reason is the recovery in export demand after the drop in demand during the start of the corona crisis in 2020. Export figures show that three quarters of Dutch dairy consumption is sold within the Eurozone, while 30% of production remains within the national borders. Exactly 25% is for sales on the world market, the lion's share of this goes to Asia.
With €7,5 billion in added value, the Dutch dairy sector contributes almost 1% to the Dutch economy. The sector generates approximately 47.000 jobs, the number of dairy farmers is more than 15.000.
Wouter Job
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