Executive Summary

EU-28 milk production figures provided by Eurostat were recently updated with values spanning through May ’18. Highlights from the updated report include:

• May ’18 EU-28 milk production finished higher on a YOY basis for the 15^th consecutive month, increasing by 2.1% to new monthly record high figure. The YOY increase in EU-28 milk production was the largest experienced throughout the past three months as lingering winter weather conditions subsided.
• May ’18 YOY increases in milk production were led by Germany, followed by Italy and Poland. Germany, Italy and Poland combined to account for nearly three quarters of the total YOY increase in EU-28 production volumes experienced throughout the month. Overall, 22 of the 28 member states experienced YOY increases in production volumes during May ’18.
• EU-28 beef & dairy cow slaughter rates finished higher on a YOY basis for the seventh consecutive month during Apr ’18 when normalized for slaughter days, increasing by 4.1%. The YOY increase in slaughter rates was the largest experienced throughout the past 22 months on a percentage basis.

Additional Report Details

According to Eurostat, May ’18 EU-28 milk production increased 1.8% MOM on a daily average basis and 2.1% YOY, finishing at new monthly record high figure. EU-28 milk production volumes typically reach seasonal highs throughout the month of May. Production volumes for Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece and Spain are not yet available and have been estimated based on previous month YOY changes in production. Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece and Spain have combined to account for less than eight percent of total EU-28 production volumes over the previous 12 months.

EU-28 milk production has finished higher on a YOY basis over 15 consecutive months through May ’18. The May ’18 YOY increase in milk production was the largest experienced throughout the past three months as lingering winter weather conditions have subsided.

May ’18 YOY increases in production on an absolute basis were led by Germany, followed by Italy and Poland. Germany, Italy and Poland combined to account for nearly three quarters of the total EU-28 YOY increase in production volumes experienced throughout May ’18. YOY declines in production on an absolute basis were led by the Netherlands.

YOY gains in production on a percentage basis were led by Cyprus (+14.9%), followed by Estonia (+8.0%), Italy (+7.9%) and Luxembourg (+7.9%), while declines in production on a percentage basis were most significant within Malta (-3.8%), Croatia (-2.8%) and the Netherlands (-1.5%).

Eight of the top ten milk producing member states experienced YOY gains in milk production during May ’18, as production within the top ten milk producing member states increased by a weighted average of 2.1% throughout the month. The top ten EU-28 milk producing member states accounted for over 85% of the total EU-28 milk production experienced throughout the month. Overall, 22 of the 28 member states experienced YOY increases in production volumes during May ’18.

Apr ’18 EU-28 beef & dairy cow slaughter finished higher on a YOY basis for the seventh consecutive month when normalized for slaughter days, increasing by 4.1%. The Apr ’18 YOY increase in beef & dairy cow slaughter was the largest experienced throughout the past 22 months on a percentage basis. YOY increases in beef & dairy cow slaughter were most significant within Spain, followed by Ireland and France.

EU-28 bovine slaughter increased 3.0% YOY throughout the ’16-’17 production season and finished up an additional 0.2% throughout the ’17-’18 production season. USDA expects the EU-28 dairy cow herd to be marginally lower throughout 2018 but recent culling is expected to have a positive impact on future per cow productivity as lower producing animals are culled.