EU milk production has been forecasted to grow further in 2015 and 2016, according to European Commission estimates.
Estimated figures for the top 10 dairy producers in the EU, presented at the latest Milk Market Observatory meeting, account for circa 85% of EU milk production.
DairyCo says according to these figures, production in the EU’s top 10 nations could grow by nearly 1.5 billion litres per annum for the next two years.
DairyCo
For the current year, it says the majority of the increase is expected to come in the latter stages as most of these countries reduced milk production in quarter 1 of 2015 to limit the impact of superlevy.
DairyCo says the prospect of more milk could keep pressure on prices for the foreseeable future, subject to a significant upturn in buyer demand or any potential impact of weather/disease.
First quota-free month sees milk supplies rise 14%
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 775.5m litres for April 2015, according to the CSO.
It says this was 14.5% above the corresponding 2014 figure.
Increased milk production last month comes on the back of the ICBF showing that dairy calf registrations are running 10% ahead of last year.
To date some 1,066,544 dairy-bred calves have been registered with the ICBF. This compares to 970,000 at the same stage last year.
The figures mean some 96,000 extra calves have been registered by dairy farmers this year.
Comparing the April 2015 milk produce figures with those for April 2014 also shows that total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 1.9% to 36.2m litres. Meanwhile butter production was up 15.3% to 19,900t.