Growth in milk production in Europe has slowed to 0.6 per cent.

The growth in the volume of raw milk delivered to dairy processors in the European Union slowed to 0.6 per cent in August, although production in Germany continued to rise. The latest data from AMI, a German agricultural market information company, shows that strong production growth in some countries is no longer offsetting declining volumes in other markets. This trend is important for Lithuanian dairy farmers when assessing potential changes in the supply of raw milk and purchase prices.

According to the German agricultural publication “Top Agrar”, EU dairies purchased around 12.4 million tonnes of milk in August, adjusted to a standard month’s duration. Compared with August 2025, the volume was just 0.6 per cent higher – the lowest year-on-year growth of any month this year up to August.

The largest absolute increase was recorded in Germany, where milk deliveries rose by 83.1 thousand tonnes. In Spain, the increase amounted to 19.7 thousand tonnes, and in Denmark – 19.6 thousand tonnes. In these three countries, annual growth ranged from 3.1 to 4 per cent.

The opposite situation arose in Ireland. In August, the country’s dairies received 81.9 thousand tonnes less milk than a year ago – a decline of 8.4 per cent.

During the first eight months of 2026, EU dairies purchased a total of around 103.2 million tonnes of milk, or 3 per cent more than last year.

The slowdown in production was partly due to the summer heatwave and drought. However, slower growth in supply does not automatically mean higher milk purchase prices – these are also determined by global trade in dairy products, stock levels and demand from processors.