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 Aug ’21. Highlights from the updated report include:

• Aug ’21 EU-27+UK milk production volumes finished 1.1% above the previous year, reaching a record high seasonal level. The YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the fifth experienced throughout the past six months.
• Aug ’21 YOY increases in milk production were led by Italy, followed by Ireland and France, while production volumes declined most significantly from the previous year throughout Germany. Overall, 14 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in milk production throughout the month.
• EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter rates finished lower on a YOY basis for the second consecutive month during Jul ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, declining by 2.1% and reaching a six year low seasonal level.

Additional Report Details

Milk Production

According to Eurostat and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board of the United Kingdom, Aug ’21 EU-27+UK milk production volumes declined seasonally to a seven month low level but finished 1.1% above previous year figures, reaching a record high seasonal level.

Figures for Luxembourg are not yet available and are based on the previous month YOY change in production. Luxembourg has accounted for less than 1.0% 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. ’21-’22 YTD EU-27+UK milk production volumes have increased by an additional 0.9% throughout the first five months of the production season.

The Aug ’21 YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the fifth experienced throughout the past six months. EU-27+UK milk production volumes have finished higher on a YOY basis over 27 of the past 31 months through Aug ’21.

Aug ’21 YOY increase in production on an absolute basis were led by Italy, followed by Ireland and France, while YOY declines in production on an absolute basis were led by Germany, followed by the Netherlands and Greece.

YOY increases in production on a percentage basis were led by Italy (+8.7%), followed by Hungary (+6.6%) and Ireland (+5.4%), while declines in production on a percentage basis were led by Greece (-14.0%), followed by Malta (-11.2%) and Finland (-3.8%).

Seven of the top ten milk producing member states experienced YOY increases in milk production during Aug ’21, as production within the top ten milk producing member states increased by a weighted average of 1.4% 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 declined by 0.5% on a YOY basis. Overall, 14 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in production volumes during Aug ’21.

Beef & Dairy Cow Slaughter

EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter finished lower on a YOY basis for the second consecutive month during Jul ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, declining by 2.1% and reaching a six year low seasonal level. YOY declines in beef & dairy cow slaughter were most significant throughout the United Kingdom, followed by France and Ireland.

’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 is projecting a 1.0% YOY decline in the EU-27+UK dairy cow herd throughout the 2021 calendar, following the general trend towards an overall smaller herd size and more productive animals.