EU milk prices continue to fall: Lithuania also sees a decline

Average farm-gate prices for raw milk in the European Union (EU) have fallen steadily this year, but at a slower pace, from 5.9% in January to 1.8% in March, at 43 cents per kilogram.

The European Commission's Milk Market Observatory (MMO) announced that in February this year, the average farm-gate price for raw milk in the EU was 18% lower than a year ago. 

Compared to February 2025, the biggest price falls were recorded in Belgium and Lithuania (31% each), the Netherlands (29%), Denmark (28%), Ireland and Germany (25% each). At the same time, only five EU Member States had higher milk prices in February than a year earlier.

In January this year, EU milk purchases increased by 5% or 591,000 tonnes compared to the same period a year ago. Increases were reported in 20 Member States, with Belgium (10%), Cyprus (9%) and Austria (9%) recording the highest increases. 

During the same period, the largest decreases in milk purchases were recorded in Romania (11%), Estonia (7.4%) and Latvia (4.6%).

In line with the increase in the supply of raw materials, dairy production in the EU has also been rising. In the first month of 2026, production of skimmed milk powder (20.9%) and butter (8.4%) increased fastest compared to January last year. Production of fermented products, cheese and condensed milk also increased.

MMO data show that in the four weeks to 22 March 2026, the price of butter fell by 4.6%, skimmed milk powder by 9.5%, whole milk powder by 5.8%, cheese by 3.4% and whey powder by 15.7%. 

Compared to the five-year average, butter, skimmed milk powder and whole milk powder prices remain lower by 21.9%, 6% and 12.1% respectively. Whey powder stands out the most, with a 36% increase over the period.