RTL Today – Consumption: Dairy products soon to be more expensive in Luxembourg
The milk market is changing and rising prices will be felt on the shelves. A sharp increase in the price of dairy products is expected for the summer.
A team from RTL visited several farmers to ask them the reasons for this increase as well as their expectations in the face of this situation. “International crises are not the only causes“, according to Jeff Boonen, “dairy products are in high demand all over the world, and the Asian market has also taken a liking to it, but supply cannot keep up with demand“.
The drought of recent years has also caused a drop in milk production in Europe. Constraints are also increasingly difficult to follow in terms of the environment with CO2 emissions or water protection.
Many farmers have also had to stop due to relatively low prices for several years, which also impacts supply, but it is still difficult to say exactly how much more the price for the consumer could increase. The products are signed for a period of six months, so the price of dairy products should increase in supermarkets from July 1. An increase of 20 to 30 cents per liter of milk is possible.
To think that farmers are happy with this increase is wrong because the production of milk and its derivatives also consumes energy, and the latter has also seen an increase in recent weeks, which greatly reduces the potential gains. Food fertilizer and animal feed also increased.
For Guy Diderrich, farmer, “food costs now rise to 13 cents for a liter of milk. This already represents a large part of the total amount“.
Jeff Boonen relativizes by stating that, “however, many farmers are lucky enough to be able to produce their own food in Luxembourg. Grass or corn for example, as we live in an area where milk production is relatively competitive, we can still make a small profit from these high prices“.
At the moment, milk costs between 70 cents and 1€50 per litre, the producer receives 45 cents.
Luxembourg produces too much for its own consumption, and huge quantities of milk are exported abroad. “We must therefore continue to keep an eye on the situation and to be ready to react.», emphasize the milk producers we met.