2023 year with a high milk price and little margin

With a decrease of roughly €11 to 13 per 100 kilos, depending on the processor, the decrease is still manageable at a glance. Last year the average payment in the Netherlands was between €55 and €58 per 100 kilos of milk, this year the milk price seems to be between €46 and €48 per 100 kilos. 

That in itself is still a very high milk price, but much more is sold than last year. There is often little or nothing left. Another setback is that the additional payment, which may still be due at four of the major Dutch processors, appears to be lower this year than last year. FrieslandCampina has already announced internally that nothing will make additional payments in 2023. Arla has performed relatively well and, as in previous years, may still end up with a additional payment between €1,50 and €2,00. That doesn't seem to be possible for the rest.
 
In terms of milk price so far, Arla is not the best. Based on the basic milk price plus grazing allowance, FrieslandCampina is at the top for the time being. Even without additional payment, the cooperative could pay out between €47,00 and €47,50, but there is one major uncertainty hovering over the milk price at the Amersfoort dairy giant and that concerns the question of what the company will do with the so-called 'pro forma reservation' of €1,68 per 100 kilos, which is mentioned in the half-year report. Is this charged to the milk price or to equity? The latter is bad for the members, the latter bad for the company (and indirectly also bad for the members).

At first glance, Cono and DOC Kaas appear to be at the lower end of the payout spectrum. They have the lowest basic milk price. But here too, not everything is as it seems. At Cono, almost all members receive a series of allowances, on average around €4,30 per 100 kilos. That makes up for a lot, and there may even be a small additional payment involved. These almost collective allowances are the great equalizers. At DOC Kaas it is a little less difficult, but many members receive a Vlog allowance plus grazing allowance. That also helps.  

Regardless of these averages, there are always individual dairy farmers who receive less milk money, for example because they do not practice grazing and also miss out on other allowances. On the other hand, there are also colleagues who pocket almost every plus and thus receive another €4 to €6 more per 100 kilos, but that was also the case last year. At FrieslandCampina this concerns just under 10% of the members, at A-ware 35% to 45% of the suppliers and at DeltaMilk about 30% of the total number of members.