Analysis Milk supply
Belgian fancier gives even more gas than Dutch
Not only in the Netherlands, but also in many other European countries, the higher milk prices lead to a significant increase in production. In Germany, for example, dairy farmers have found the gas, just like in Belgium and Poland. And the Irish are also seduced by the high milk money they receive.
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This is all evident from the latest milk supply figures that the various countries have submitted to the statistical service Eurostat. Only Italy, as a major dairy cattle country, recorded a minus, causing Poland to rise one place in the ranking of the largest dairy cattle countries in the European Union.
Growth in Germany accelerates
German milk supplies reached 2,61 million tons in October, an increase of 2,3% compared to the previous year. Moreover, production is even a fraction above the level of 2020, when German milk production was well over. The provisional supply figures for November show that supply continues to grow, or even accelerates somewhat. Last April, milk production in Germany was 2,5% below the 2021 level.
French supply does not suffer from a dry summer
Dairy farmers are also increasing production in France. Last October, the supply amounted to 1,94 million tons, an increase of 1,4%. This accelerates growth. That is special, given that France has had an extremely dry summer. In France, the supply is ample in relation to the sales opportunities. There is mainly a surplus of organic milk. Dairy giant Lactalis reportedly sells 40% of its organic production on the conventional market. Organic milk is often no longer collected separately by factories from the usual supply.
Strong growth in the Netherlands and Belgium
In November, Dutch dairy farmers jointly produced 1,11 million tons of milk. This is an increase of 4,9%. Only in 2017, when the milk supply in the Netherlands was in excess due to the expiration of the quota, the supply was even higher. In Belgium, the supply in October was 373.000 tons, an increase of no less than 7%. Due to this significant increase, the milk prices in Belgium may have started to decline earlier than in our country.
Poland surpasses Italy in pecking order
In Poland there was already an increase in production throughout 2022. In November the supply amounted to 1,012 tonnes, making it the first time that supply for that month passed the one million ton mark. With an increase of more than 4,5%, growth can be called significant. This makes the Eastern European country one of the largest growers. Due to the growth, Ireland has overtaken Italy as the fourth largest dairy country behind the Netherlands, which occupies third place. Italy is the only country in the top 5 where no growth is visible. In October the supply amounted to 1,025 tons, a decrease of approximately 1,5%. This is probably related to the dry summer, which caused a large part of the roughage harvest to be lost.
The Irish clearly give a thumbs up
The spring peak last April was below the level of the previous year, but growth figures are now also visible in Ireland. In November the supply amounted to 515.000 tons, an increase of no less than 7,5%. Analysts in Ireland attribute this to the extremely good returns in dairy farming. The increased concentrate costs are much less important there, because Irish dairy farmers mainly use grass rations.