2024 a recovery year for German dairy cooperatives

In terms of paid milk prices, BMI (Bayerische Milchindustrie) and Ammerland delivered the strongest performance. The former increased the milk price compared to 2023 from €43,33 per 100 kilos to €50,89 per 100 kilos. The latter increased the milk price from €45,71 to €50,02 per 100 kilos. In relative terms, DMK also achieved a significant improvement, plus €6,00 ​​per 100 kilos, but a rise from €41,10 per 100 kilos to €47,10 per 100 kilos was not good enough for many German dairy farmers. Hochwald achieved the smallest improvement, as it went from €47,50 in 2023 to €48,10 in 2024. That is from an above-average German milk price to an exactly average milk price. Hochwald itself is not satisfied with it. 
The dairy cooperative is more positive about the business results. Turnover increased slightly, from €1.956 million to €2.011 million, while gross profit increased by €23 million to €161 million. However, a net profit is not mentioned. Milk supply increased by 100 million kilos to 2,3 billion kilos. The number of suppliers decreased by 90 to 2.707.

The South German cooperative BMI also had a much better business year than the year before. In 2023, it achieved a turnover of €559 million, but suffered a loss of €6,2 million. Last year, turnover rose to €582 million and a modest positive result of €1,3 million is again achieved. BMI is a bit of a special cooperative, because it is actually mainly a cooperative of supplier associations, not of individual farmers. The number of supplier associations currently stands at 27 and there are also a number of individual farmers. BMI is also a cooperative with a relatively low turnover compared to the milk pool. At 2,8 billion kilos, this is larger than that of Hochwald and also of Ammerland. Despite the relatively low turnover, BMI paid a fairly high milk price. 

Ammerland pays slightly less, but is considered one of the strongest and best-organized cooperatives in Germany. With a milk pool of over 2,4 billion kilos and a turnover of 1,73 billion, it is not a giant, but also not a diminutive.

Ammerland had 1.954 members last year. That is almost the same number as the year before. These members supplied 2,44 billion kilos of milk last year, 60 million kilos more than in 2023. Thanks to that supply and the rising dairy prices, turnover increased by 8,5%, from almost €1,6 billion to €1,73 billion. Gross profit increased from €23,9 million to €33,9 million, but more importantly for the members was that the milk price increased from €45,71 per 100 kilos to €50,02 per 100 kilos.

Germany's largest cooperative DMK presented a mixed picture. Turnover and profit did increase, and as mentioned, they also paid a better milk price, DMK also lost a considerable volume of milk again. Total supply fell by 200 million kilos to €5,3 billion kilos. The number of members also seems to have declined further, but DMK is rather secretive about that. The company website states that it has 4.600 members, but the 2023 annual report at the German Chamber of Commerce states that it has 3.800 members plus 600 from DOC Cheese.

An annual report for 2024 has not yet been filed. That could also provide more insight into the company's results, because there are more questions. DMK's turnover rose by €500 million last year to €5,1 billion, while profit is said to have increased from €11,4 million to €24,6 million. Last year, however, DMK reported that it would have suffered a loss of €2023 million in 22,9. How could that have turned into a profit of €11,4 million in this year's presentation? These are questions for now. They may not be discussed next year. After all, DMK and Arla intend to merge. 

However, there are even fewer large, truly German dairy companies left. Germany does have a private dairy giant, Müller Milch. However, it falls under the umbrella of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller (UTM). It is registered in Luxembourg and hardly files any data. According to the latest data, UTM achieved a turnover of €2023 billion in 9,2, mainly but not exclusively with dairy. The operating profit is said to be €156 million. A milk price for Müller Milch is also not known.

Another major player in Germany is Arla, still without DMK. This company publishes most of the data for the group as a whole. In 2023, the company achieved a turnover of €2,16 billion in Germany alone, it reports.