Milk prices in the EU member states vary greatly - but comparisons are only of indicative value.
Despite a common milk market in the EU-28, milk prices vary considerably in the individual member states. Some of the differences are due to different methods of collecting data on ingredients, but a large proportion of the differences depend on the national supply situation and the efficiency of the dairy industry. In the subsidy areas, fresh milk products, which are sensitive to transportation costs, contribute significantly to a high milk price.
The two Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta stand out as frontrunners with milk prices of around 55 ct per kg. However, these two exceptional cases are not representative due to their small size. At the bottom of the table are Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania with prices well below 30 cents per kg this year.
According to the provisional figures, the European average is around 35 cents/kg compared to just under 31 cents in 2012.
Above the European average are the Scandinavian countries, the Central European countries with a high performance potential such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, as well as the pronounced subsidy country Italy with a considerable import demand from neighboring countries as far as Bavaria.
The UK, France and Denmark have milk prices that no longer quite reach the European average. Milk production in these countries has not reached the national quotas for years without any major need for imports.
The majority of the new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe remain below the average farm-gate prices due to infrastructural weaknesses in the dairy industry. Here, too, the increased milk quota is far from being fully utilized.
The milk prices in the EU-28, which are well above the intervention price hedging level, are a result of high third-country exports at prices that are well above the state minimum price guarantee of 21.6 cents per kg. The EU quota system has therefore lost its function of restricting supply in order to maintain a minimum EU price level. EU policymakers are relaxed about the end of the quotas.
