EU dairy product availability: butter supplies fall in Q1 as production shrinks

EU’s dairy product availability edged up in Q1 2024 after having been mostly lower in 2023. Butter has bucked the trend and available supplies continue to decline amid a decline in production. Milk deliveries in EU in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 1.5% to 35.29 billion litres year-on-year. Increase in milk deliveries bolstered the production of cheese while that of butter and SMP remained on the lower side. The available supplies of butter fell primarily due to lower production and imports. Export volumes also remained lower during the period. Demand was limited as buyers were well secured for Q1. However, retail demand towards the end of the quarter was seen to be improving. Higher cream prices limited churning rates for butter. Cheese available supplies were higher in Q1 2024 driven by a large increase in production and higher imports. Exports remained marginally higher during the period. Good retail demand incentivised processors to push production. Coupled with this ...