Analysis Dutch Milk price calculator
Which processor paid the best milk price in 2025?
Who paid the highest basic milk price in the Netherlands in 2025? That honor belongs to the German company Hochwald Foods, according to the Milk Price Comparison tool from BoerenbusinessIt is also striking that A-ware and FrieslandCampina hardly differ in terms of average payout over the past year.
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From data from the Boerenbusiness Dutch Milk price calculator It turns out that the average basic milk price in 2025 was €52,50 per 100 kilos. This is €1,29 less than the average for 2022, which was the year with the highest milk price so far. The milk price pattern over the past year has been quite dynamic, with a high start and a sharp decline at the end. It was almost a mirror image of the milk price development in 2022.
In absolute terms, A-ware achieved the highest milk price; they were the only processor where the base milk price exceeded €56 per 100 kilos. This occurred in June and July, when the milk price peaked.
Hochwald at the top all year round
With an average of €53,47 per 100 kilos, Hochwald achieved the highest basic milk price in the Netherlands year-round. A-ware and FrieslandCampina follow in second and third place. The difference between the two is small. For the full year 2025, A-ware paid an average milk price of €52,88 per 100 kilos, €0,01 more than FrieslandCampina. These prices are calculated based on an annual supply of 1 million kilos and the standard 2025 levels of 4,45% fat and 3,58% protein.
| Processor | Average basic milk price 2025 (per 100 kilos) |
| Hochwald Foods | €53,47 |
| a-ware | €52,88 |
| FrieslandCampina | €52,87 |
| Lactalis Leerdammer | €52,79 |
| DOC Cheese | €52,01 |
| Vreugdenhil Dairy Foods | €51,93 |
| Arla | €51,50 |
| Cono Cheesemakers |
€51,27 (the fat and protein prices for December are not yet known) |
Additional payment will follow
However, a caveat must be noted in the ranking. Dairy cooperative Arla guarantees its members an annual supplementary payment of approximately €2 per 100 kilos, resulting in a final milk price of €52,73 as a base and €59,73 as a maximum. FrieslandCampina has also promised a supplementary payment for 2025, but that appears to be significantly lower. The cooperatives Cono and DOC Kaas/DMK can also top up the milk price with a supplementary payment. It's important to keep in mind that the benefits of supplementary payments are offset by costs, in the form of contributions.
Top layer could barely reach 58 euros
The actual milk price paid was almost certainly a few euros per 100 kilos higher last year, as most dairy farmers earned some additional bonuses for things like basic sustainability and grazing. The highest-performing dairy farmers at the eight largest processors in the Netherlands earned an average of €57,89 per 100 kilos last year.
A-ware's "Better for" suppliers achieved a milk price of €59,74 per 100 kilos. In second place are the Tuurlijk farmers from DOC Kaas, receiving €59,01 per 100 kilos. Third place goes to the Tomorrow's Dairy farmers from Vreugdenhil, receiving up to €58,73 per 100 kilos.
It's noteworthy that dairy giants like Arla and FrieslandCampina rank among the middle-of-the-road in terms of payments for their top milk flows. However, the supplementary payment also applies here, as in the above ranking of the basic milk price. A-ware, on the other hand, like all other private companies, does not have supplementary payments, but unlike the other processors, it actually has a broad leading group, with the highest percentage of farmers receiving a maximum supplementary payment.
All milk prices listed are not factory averages or anything like that. These don't mean much to an individual dairy farmer. These are milk prices that dairy farmers can achieve themselves. After all, varying fat and protein contents also lead to different prices.