European milk production remains subdued, with milk supplies in the largest countries either flat or falling. The prolonged period of dry weather in April and May has undoubtedly affected supplies of milk.

New data released this week by Eurostat shows that milk production growth in France and Germany, the two largest dairy-producing countries of Europe, has slowed significantly.

Leap year

For May, German milk collections stood at just under 2.8bn litres, which is marginally lower than the same month last year. This brings German milk production for the first five of 2020 (Jan-May) to a cumulative 13.5bn litres, which is 1% ahead of the same period last year.

However, 2020 is a leap year so there is an extra’s days milk production included in these figures.

In France, milk production has now entered a period of decline. For May, French milk production was down a significant 2% year on year to just under 2.1bn litres. This follows on from the 1% decline in April milk production.

Overall, French milk production in the first five months of 2020 is up 0.9% year on year at a cumulative 10.5bn litres. Again, this figure is influenced by the leap year.

Drop in UK

Away from continental Europe, milk production is also falling in the UK, which is the third-largest dairy producer in Europe. UK milk production for May stood at just under 1.4bn litres, which was down over 1% year on year.

Overall, UK milk production is down almost 1% for the year to the end of May at a cumulative 6.4bn litres.

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