Executive Summary

EU-27+UK milk production figures provided by Eurostat and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board of the United Kingdom were recently updated with values spanning through Apr ’21. Highlights from the updated report include:

• EU-27+UK milk production volumes increased 0.9% on a YOY basis throughout Apr ’21, reaching a record high monthly level. The YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the largest experienced throughout the past five months.
• Apr ’21 YOY increases in milk production were led by Ireland, followed by the United Kingdom, while production volumes declined most significantly from the previous year throughout Germany and the Netherlands. Overall, 18 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in milk production throughout the month.
• EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter rates finished higher on a YOY basis for the first time in the past seven months during Mar ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, increasing by 1.6% and reaching a three year high seasonal level.

Additional Report Details

According to Eurostat and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board of the United Kingdom, Apr ’21 EU-27+UK milk production volumes increased seasonally to a record high monthly level, finishing 0.9% above previous year levels. EU-27+UK milk production volumes reached a record high seasonal level for the ninth time in the past 11 months throughout Apr ’21.

Figures for Sweden and Luxembourg are not yet available and are based on the previous month YOY change in production. Sweden and Luxembourg have combined to account for just 2.0% of total EU-27+UK production volumes throughout the past 12 months.

’20-’21 annual EU-27+UK milk production volumes finished 0.6% higher on a YOY basis, reaching a record high level for the fourth consecutive year.

The Apr ’21 YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the second experienced in a row and the largest experienced throughout the past five months on a percentage basis. EU-27+UK milk production volumes had declined on a YOY basis just once in the 23 month period ending Dec ’20, prior to finishing lower throughout the months of January and February.

Apr ’21 YOY increases in production on an absolute basis were led by Ireland, followed by the United Kingdom, while YOY declines in production on an absolute basis were led by Germany, followed by the Netherlands.

YOY increases in production on a percentage basis were led by Cyprus (+13.6%), followed by Hungary (+7.4%) and Ireland (+6.1%), while declines in production on a percentage basis were led by Malta (-4.1%), followed by Finland (-3.1%) and the Czech Republic (-2.4%).

Seven of the top ten milk producing member states experienced YOY increases in milk production during Apr ’21, as production within the top ten milk producing member states increased by a weighted average of 0.9% throughout the month. The top ten EU-27+UK milk producing member states accounted for over 85% of the total EU-27+UK milk production experienced throughout the month. Production outside of the top ten milk producing member states increased by 1.0% on a YOY basis. Overall, 18 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in production volumes during Apr ’21.

EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter finished higher on a YOY basis for the first time in the past seven months during Mar ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, increasing by 1.6% and reaching a three year high seasonal level. YOY increases in beef & dairy cow slaughter were most significant throughout France, followed by the Netherlands and Italy.

’20-’21 annual EU-27+UK bovine slaughter declined on a YOY basis for the second consecutive year, finishing down 3.3% and reaching a seven year low level. The USDA estimates that the EU-27+UK dairy cow herd declined 1.2% throughout the 2020 calendar year due to feed shortages stemming from recent droughts but noted additional culling rates, coupled with improved genetics, are expected to have a positive impact on future per cow productivity as lower producing animals are culled. The USDA is projecting an additional 0.3% YOY decline in the EU-27+UK dairy cow herd throughout 2021, following the general trend toward smaller herds and more productive animals.