Dutch milk companies are searching for new milk as supply in the Netherlands drops year after year. Some of the best dairy companies in the world need supply to allow them maintain contracts and meet new demand.

Milk supply in the Netherlands is falling rapidly and is set to drop more with new environmental restrictions in play. If we look back over the last five years alone, we see a big drop in milk collections. Annual milk supply was 14.3bn kg in 2016 and in 2021 it was closer to 13.6bn kg. We already know 2022 supply is down another 1% to-date.

It is no surprise given the environmental restrictions being imposed at farm level. Late last week, it was announced that a derogation to allow higher stocking rates is being phased out by 2026. Farmers will be compensated to reduce milking cow numbers.

While yield per cow will increase, there is still a fall in national milk supply. The exorbitant price of land and pressure from urban centres is putting even greater pressure on the industry to survive in the south of Holland.

Belgium

So what are the milk factories doing? At the beginning of this week, Vreugdenhil Dairy Foods revealed that it was looking for milk in Belgium. The other big Dutch dairies are doing the same. A-ware, FrieslandCampina and Farmel are also actively looking for new suppliers.

Vreugdenhil Dairy Foods produces milk powders which are used in over 130 countries worldwide to make milk for drinking, baking and the infant formula industry. Vreugdenhil processed more than 1.4bn kg of milk in 2021, so it’s a shade smaller than Dairygold Co-op in Ireland. Speaking of Dairygold, a long-time dwindling milk supply in Norway and across Scandinavia is one of the reason’s for TINE’s tie-up with Dairygold Co-op in Cork.

Royal A-ware

In May this year, Royal A-ware, the Dutch firm that is partnering with Glanbia for the new cheese plant in Belview, started to collect a second milk stream in Belgium. In addition to conventional milk, it announced it was also looking to collect pasture milk. This followed an April announcement that it had reached an agreement for its third Belgian milk processing site.

FrieslandCampina is the biggest Dutch dairy company and recently announced improved profits for the first six months of 2022. However, in a statement it said: “Market developments for the second half of 2022 are uncertain; this is a consequence of the war in Ukraine, the corona pandemic, cost increases and possible consequences of the Dutch government’s nitrogen plans for members and the company.”

Dutch dairy companies are increasingly looking to other countries such as Belgium and Ireland to secure supply and product into the future.