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Milk supply balance: less milk, cheese and butter consumed again
According to provisional figures from the Federal Information Centre for Agriculture (BLZ), the consumption of milk per capita fell below 46 kilograms in 2023. The citizens also used butter more sparingly. The consumption of cheese per capita fell from 24.6 to 23.8 kilograms.
The slow drop in the prices of milk and dairy products and the rise in sales of plant-based alternatives to milk may have contributed to this result.
According to the new BZL milk supply balance for 2023, the production of consumable milk fell by almost one per cent in comparison with the previous year to around 4.2 million tonnes. The consumption of milk also fell by almost one per cent to just under 46 kilograms, breaking the record low of the previous year.
The self-sufficiency rate for consumable milk was 107 % in 2023 (-0.6 percentage points).
816 grams less cheese consumed per person
The production of cheese increased from 2.64 (2022) to 2.66 million tonnes. Cheese exports achieved their highest level since 1992 at 1.41 million (+6.6 %). The consumption per capita fell accordingly from 24.6 to 23.8 kilograms of cheese in 2023.
1.4 % decrease in butter consumption
Whilst the production of butter, milk fat products and dairy spread products experienced a slight increase of 1.8 % to 481,000 tonnes, butter production decreased by almost four per cent last year. Exports increased by more than 4.2 %, whilst imports fell by more than ten per cent. The consumption of butter, milk fat products and dairy spread products fell by 1.4 % to 5.56 kilograms (in butter value). As a result of the lower consumption, the self-sufficiency rate for butter, milk fat products and dairy spread products rose to 102 %.
More than 2,300 fewer dairy farms than in the previous year
The trend of declining numbers of dairy cows in Germany, which has been ongoing since 2014, continued in 2023 with a reduction in the number of animals from around 3.8 to around 3.7 million (-2.5 %). The number of dairy farms fell from 52,895 to 50,581 (-4.4 %). The average milk yield per cow per annum increased again from 8,504 (2022) to 8,780 kilograms.
