EU leaders France and Germany reported milk production for November 2017 well ahead of the same month in 2016, according to Eurostat.

Germany collected 2.5mt of milk that month, up 6.35% on the previous year. France provisionally reported producing just under 2mt (up 5.44%), but a more detailed farmer survey published this week has revised the November figure down to 1.92mt. This still amounts to a 2.4% increase year-on-year.

UK, Italian, Polish and Spanish supplies were also well up in November, while the Netherlands showed a more modest increase as it continues to deal with the consequences of the country’s phosphate reduction plan.

Denmark, too, posted high November supply figures (up 6.31% on the previous year). However this is the only country to have reported December production so far, and it has fallen back in line with 2016 levels.

December collections were well up in Ireland.

New Zealand

New Zealand’s overall production for December is down 2.6%, or 4.6% on a milk solids basis. This means 70m litres off the global market compared with December 2016. While not as severe as suggested by the 6% drop in New Zealand leader Fonterra’s collection figures for last month, the country’s relatively slow production pace as the EU and the US continue to pump milk into fragile global markets.

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EU milk supply remains high

Leading European dairy producing countries reported high output in November, however early results from Denmark and New Zealand for December point to a slowdown.