The market situation for milk and milk products is considered to be relatively balanced, with reasonable growth in world production and a satisfactory trend in demand. This is indicated in the EU experts' report published after the last meeting of the European Dairy Market Observatory on 13 December.
The report indicates that EU milk production, which has been on the rise overall since early 2018, started to decline in October and high farm prices are expected in the coming months.
EU milk collection increased by 1.2% over the period January-October 2018, but started to decline by 0.4% last October, with France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany being the main contributors to this decline. However, in some Member States, production continues to increase, especially in Ireland (+111,000 tonnes, or +20% in October) and Poland (+26,000 tonnes).
Over the period, skimmed milk powder production was 1.5% lower than last year, butter production increased by 1.6% and cheese production by 0.4%.
Average farmgate milk prices in the EU have improved over the past five months, reaching 35.8 cents/kg in October, 3.7% higher than the five-year average. "Firm prices are expected in the coming months", experts predict.
Protein-based dairy products experienced an "impressive increase in 2018": +27% for whey powder and +16% for skimmed milk powder.
Prices of fat products also improved, but at a slower pace (+2% for butter and whole milk powder).
Cheese prices, on the other hand, fell slightly.
Worldwide, milk production increased by 1.3% in January-September 2018, with the EU providing half of the additional milk. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)