News Milk
Dairy farmer keeps five people employed
The dairy sector is an important job generator in rural areas and also plays a leading role in the Dutch economy. This is the conclusion of the Dutch Dairy Organisation based on research by accounting and consultancy firm EY.
In total, there are almost 84.000 jobs in the entire dairy complex, including more than 14.300 dairy farmers. In other words: in addition to each dairy farmer, there are five other people working in the chain. The dairy sector occupies a key position in the provinces of Friesland, Overijssel, Gelderland and Noord-Brabant in particular. This is logical, given the livestock density of these provinces and the often clustered companies that operate around the farm.
According to EY, the industry has a turnover of €27,3 billion. Last year, this generated a total of €8,3 billion in added value for the Dutch economy. It is also stated that three quarters of the total export value of €10,3 billion is sold in the European Union.
Challenges in the chain
Despite the praise sounded in the EY advisory report, there are also challenges. The consultancy expects that increasing legal restrictions will put pressure on the profitability of dairy companies. Although this is not implicitly stated, EY seems to be pointing to the expected shrinkage of the Dutch livestock population. The consultancy believes that dairy companies need to adjust their product mix in the coming years.
Wouter Job
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