EU milk production tapering off

EU milk production growth is finally slowing, according to a visiting expert on the European dairy sector.

Matt Johnson, a visiting senior dairy associate from Rabobank Netherlands, said indications were that the recent post-quota surge in production was a “one-off adjustment rather than an opening of the floodgates”.

Johnson, who is in Australia delivering a series of industry presentations, said after exhibiting significant growth in the first year after liberalisation, EU milk production growth was “finally starting to taper off”.

“The removal of milk quotas on April 1, 2015 signified the end of more than three decades of regulation in the European dairy industry,” he said.

“While the subsequent surge in milk production across many EU member states was anticipated, the fact that this growth has been sustained, despite the slump in global dairy prices, has taken everyone by surprise.”