Aug 26 - Dairy farming is a prominent sector in many regions of the EU, shaping landscapes and environments (particularly in mountainous areas). Since 1984, it has operated under a programme of production quotas and support prices. The latest major policy reform of 2003 (1) aimed to increase competitiveness, improve market orientation towards higher added value products like cheese and fresh dairy products, facilitate the restructuring of the sector and encourage entrance into the sector by young farmers.
Milk is made of fats, proteins, other solids and water. It is consumed as milk, or converted through processes such as separation, combination and compression into a variety of dairy products and ingredients (i.e. creams, butters, skimmed milk powder, yoghurts, cheese and whey).
The following publication aims to give an overview of selected statistics and indicators linked to the dairy chain in the EU.
Key points
There are considerable differences in the amount of dairy products available for human consumption in the Member States (see Figure 1 below).
Milk is produced in every single Member State. Under the quota system, the volume of milk produced among Member States has remained stable over a number of years, although the amount of milk used on farms declined by a quarter between 1996 and 2006.
Import volumes of dairy products from non-Community countries are relatively limited, largely reflecting the perishable nature of these products, and were principally imported (70.7 %) from Switzerland and New Zealand.
The aggregated price level of milk, cheese and eggs was considerably different among Member States; in Poland average prices were about a third lower than the average across the EU-27 in 2007, while prices were about 40 % higher in Cyprus and Greece. Between 1997 and 2007, consumer prices of milk, cheese and eggs declined in the vast majority of Member States (when compared with the change for all goods and services). Figures for the first five months of 2008, however, point to a sharp turnaround due to steep price increases for milk, cheese and eggs.
