Brussels, 02/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - Milk prices will not increase before 2020 but the EU is best placed across the world to respond to the increased demand for dairy products, the European Commission said on Wednesday 2 December at the EU agricultural outlook conference in Brussels.
Sophie Hélaine, from the European Commission's Directorate General for Agriculture, said that, in the EU, milk prices were forecast to be around 32-34 eurocents over the next few years and would only rise after 2020. Consumption and production of milk and dairy products were expected to increase by 1.8% per year worldwide, with growth especially strong in developing countries, and global imports were likely to rise by 2.3%. According to the Commission, the EU is best placed to respond to this increasing demand. The United States and New Zealand, it believes, will not be able to increase their production.
European milk production is likely to increase by 1% per year on average, the Commission says (an increase of 15 million tonnes in 10 years). This is a “moderate” increase but production rose sharply (by 6.5 million tonnes) in 2014-2015, following the ending of production quotas.
The Commission is predicting strong growth in milk production in Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Estonia and Romania and average growth in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It expects small increases in Spain and Italy, and reductions in production in Sweden and Finland notably. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)