The south of Ireland produced the highest value of milk in the EU in 2021 at €2.4 billion, according to Eurostat.
This was followed by Bretagne in France at €2 billion, and Lombardia in Italy at €1.8 billion.
According to the figures, an additional five regions generated milk to the value of at least €1 billion: Pays-de-la-Loire and Basse-Normandie in France; Weser-Ems and Schleswig-Holstein in Germany; and Galicia in Spain.
There were eight regions where the share of the value of milk production was at least 40% of the value of total agricultural output in 2021:
- Friesland in the Netherlands at 47.3%;
- Região Autónoma dos Açores in Portugal at 46.0%;
- Franche-Comté in France at 45.6%;
- South of Ireland at 43.5;
- Salzburg and Vorarlberg in Austria at 43.5% each;
- Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi in Finland at 42.7%;
- Cantabria in Spain at 41.3%.
In another 14 regions, the share of the value of milk production was between to 30% and 40% of the value of total agricultural output.
These regions were in Germany (six regions), the Netherlands (three regions), Sweden (two regions), Austria (one region), Spain (one region), and in France (one region).
The value of total milk production in the EU was €58 billion for 2021.
Milk in Ireland
According to a report from the European Milk Board (EMB), which looked at milk production in eight EU countries for 2021, the milk price paid to farmers did not cover the costs of production, except for in Ireland.
In 2021, milk production costs in Ireland amounted to 36.23 cent per kg.
The report also stated that Irish dairy producers are experiencing a growth in cost pressure, like other countries.
According to the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS), in 2021, 15,319 dairy farms represented an average family farm income (FFI) of €98,745.
This figure rose to €150,884 last year, according to Teagasc.
Latest estimates from Teagasc suggest a drop in these figures, with dairy farm income expected to be down 60% which could bring the average dairy farm income in 2023 to around €59,000.
This, together with a poor harvest in 2023, is likely according to economists, to drag down the overall average farm income in 2023, by 44% to just under €24,800.