EU-28: Dairy and Products Semi-annual
Post estimates that 2019 European Union 28 (EU-28) milk deliveries will increase by 0.4 percent over 2018, following a 0.8 percent increase in 2018. Although domestic and international dairy demand remains strong, a reduction of the overall dairy herd and feed shortages caused by the 2018 drought in Northern and Eastern Europe will reduce milk production during the first half of 2019. Post expects that milk production will increase during the second half of 2019, as the feed situation will likely improve with the new crop. Post expects that higher 2019 milk production will increase production of cheese, butter, and non-fat dry milk (NFDM), while whole dry milk (WDM) production will remain at last year’s level. During the second half of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, the EU-28 successfully sold almost all of the public intervention NFDM stocks it built in 2016 and 2017.
