Milk production in two of the largest dairy producers in Europe - the UK and the Netherlands - declined for the month of August.

New figures reported to Eurostat this week show UK milk production for August stood at just under 1.2bn litres, which is down 0.5% compared with the same month last year.

This brings milk production in the UK, which is the third-largest milk-producing country in Europe, to a cumulative 10.1bn litres for the first eight months of 2020 (Jan-Aug), which is down 0.7%, or 68m litres, on the same period last year.

Netherlands

Meanwhile, after showing strong supply growth in the first half of the year, milk production in the Netherlands was also down for the month of August.

Eurostat figures show Dutch milk production for August stood at 1.1bn litres, which was down 1.5% on the same month last year.

This brings Dutch milk collections for the first eight months of 2020 to a cumulative 9.1bn litres, which is almost 2%, or 160m litres, ahead of the same period last year.

Poland

In contrast, milk production growth remains robust in Poland. Dairy farmers in the eastern European country pumped out just over 1bn litres of milk for the month of August, which was up 2% on last year.

This brings Polish milk production for the first eight months of 2020 to a cumulative 8.2bn litres, which is almost 3%, or 205m litres, ahead of the same period last year.

After Ireland, Poland has shown the strongest milk supply growth since the end of quotas.

Germany and France

Meanwhile, in Germany and France, the two largest milk producers in Europe, milk production for 2020 is ahead of last year.

In Germany, the largest milk-producing country in Europe, August milk supply came in at 2.7bn litres, which was almost 1% ahead of the same month last year.

This brings German milk production for the first eight months of 2020 to a cumulative 18.8bn litres of milk, which is 1%, or 180m litres, ahead of last season.

In neighbouring France, the second-largest milk producer in Europe, August milk production stood at just over 1.9bn litres, which is up a very strong 3% year on year.

After some months of falling production in April, May and June, French milk supplies are firmly back in growth mode as we move into the back end of the year.

For the first eight months of 2020, French milk production stands at a cumulative 14.4bn litres, which is almost 1%, or 130m litres, ahead of the same period last year.