Milk production from dairy farms in the two largest dairy producing countries in Europe, Germany and France, remains very subdued. New figures released this week by Eurostat show German milk production for June stood at 2.65bn litres, which is flat when compared with the same month last year.

Since February, milk production in Germany has been relatively flat year-on-year and has shown no signs of growth during the seasonal spring flush from March to June.

Overall, German milk production for the first six months of 2020 stands at 16.1bn litres, which is up 1% year-on-year. However, as 2020 is a leap year this includes an extra day’s milk production when compared to last year.

France

In neighbouring France, the second largest dairy producer in Europe, milk collections are down year-on-year. For June, French milk collections stood at an estimated 1.95bn litres, which is down 0.5% year on year.

Throughout the months of the spring flush, French milk production has been down 1% to 2% each month when compared to last year. Overall, French milk production in the first half of the year stands at 12.4bn litres, which is 0.7% ahead of last year, but again this includes the extra day in February.

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Dairy markets: German and French milk production stalls

Milk production in Germany and France, Europe’s two largest dairy producers, has been flat or declining during the seasonal spring flush.