German milk production for the month of March stood at 2.74bn litres, which is 1.2% ahead of the same month last year.

However, it must be remembered that March 2018 was an exceptionally difficult month for European farmers due to adverse weather conditions, so it is no surprise to see German milk supply increased for March 2019.

Cumulative collections

March milk flows bring milk collections from German dairy farms to a cumulative 7.85bn litres for the first quarter of 2019 (Jan-Mar).

This is only slightly behind (-0.3%) milk production in Germany for the opening quarter of 2018.

Germany is the largest milk producer in all of the EU, producing in excess of 30bn litres of milk annually.

Figures for March milk production in France are expected to be released later this week.

France is the second-largest milk producer in the EU.

As such, milk supply figures from both France and Germany have a major bearing on dairy market sentiment.