Milk production from the two largest dairy producers in Europe slowed markedly in recent months, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

In the final three months of 2018, German milk production fell by more than 1%, or 100m litres, on the same period in 2017 as forage supplies remained tight.

Largest producer

Germany is the largest milk-producing country in Europe.

German dairy farmers produced a collective 31.4bn litres of milk throughout 2018, which was up 1.7% compared with the 30.9bn litres produced in 2017.

Tight fodder supplies were blamed for the lower milk output

In neighbouring France, which is the second-largest milk producer in Europe, milk production also went into reverse in the final months of 2018.

From October to November, French milk production fell by 3%, or 170m litres, compared with the same period in 2017.

Again, tight fodder supplies were blamed for the lower milk output.

Lower output

This trend towards lower milk output in Germany and France has continued into the early part of 2019, although Eurostat has yet to release milk production data for January or February.

The lower milk output in Europe’s two largest producers is supporting dairy market sentiment across Europe right now.