Editorial | IDM
Good news for the industry
9 2017 | international-dairy.com · 3
The EU export business is set grow significantly
Roland Sossna
Editor IDM
International Dairy Magazine
sossna@blmedien.de
international-dairy.com
According to the recent OECD/FAO Agricultural Outlook, the share of commodities in EU
dairy exports will grow from 24% in 2016 to 28% in 2026. Total EU dairy exports are to increase
by 37% in that period. Cheese exports alone will be up by 26% to almost one million
tons and SMP exports will grow by 60% to 910,000 tons – making Europe the dominant
supplier of these two categories to the world market.
This looks like good news to the industry. Owners, managers and farmers can be assured that
their investment in processing capacities over the past few years was justified and an overall
good decision. Of course, the past investment may not be enough to be able to utilise increasing
milk production to make SMP or cheese in sufficient quantity just to match the Outlook’s
estimate. In the period between 2016 and 2026, OECD/FAO think it to be likely that the EU
milk pool will grow by 8% to almost 176 million tons which is about 13 million tons more than
processors have available today.
However, there are some political trends towards reducing export possibilities especially of
the EU dairy and cheese industry. Even conservative politicians, not just the Greens and the
socialists, say that dairy exports counteract initiatives in developing countries to build an own
milk production by flooding local markets with cheap/subsidised products. In the run-up to
the Federal elections in Germany, long-time Chancellor Merkel stressed that one would have to
take a close look in future as to where German dairy products end up as the might be possibly
impeding local development.
So, the myth that farm produce in areas, where conditions for agriculture and milk production
are favourable by chance, disturb worldwide farming has reached top level decision makers. It is
quite sad by the way that this kind of politicians is babbling away things that are just wrong. Take
India as example: OECD/FAO estimate a 50% growth of milk production there to about 228 million
tons until 2026. On the other hand, Africa’s milk production, due to the climate, will never be able
to meet the ever growing demand. If EU products could not reach this market any more one day,
malnutrition especially of toddlers and children would be the effect.
Given worldwide growth of population, to be a dairy farmer or a worker in the dairy industry is one
of the most sustainable professions around, despite all the political drivel, thinks Roland Sossna