Drought: The price of a liter of milk will increase in the coming weeks, what you need to know

Another climb. This time, the milk price is likely to rise in the coming weeks. This could also make all dairy products (cheese, yoghurt, butter) much more expensive. A new difficult test for consumers in the context of general price increases since the post-Covid economic recovery and the start of the war in Ukraine.

The drought in question

It is the historic drought of the last few weeks that explains the forecasts for milk price increases. The lack of rain for several weeks, exacerbated by the heat waves, has had a devastating impact on forage production. According to the July 28 report by Agreste, the Department of Agriculture’s statistics site, the grassland crop deficit was 21% on July 20. As the drought intensified in August, the losses could be much greater.

In detail, the yields in Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Paca and Occitanie are very low. According to AFP information quoted by BFM TVWhen the grass runs out, farmers have few solutions: sell animals, fall back on winter supplies or even buy supplementary feed. But for cost reasons, it is the first solution that would be favored by the operators.

lack of milk

Selling animals, however, makes herds smaller. Milk production is then affected. “A lack of milk leads to a reduction in the possibilities for making butter, cream, milk cartons, cheese… And a lack of products affects the price, regardless of the sector,” explains Benoît Rouyer to AFP.

The annual negotiations on the price have been resumed in recent months, and the National Association of Milk Producers is demanding that a liter of milk be sold for the euro. If the negotiations fail, the association promises to switch to “destructive unions” in September.