Milk firms drop prices, boost sales
Greece’s dairy industry is recovering, after a steep rise in the wholesale price of milk hurt sales.
The lower retail price of milk allowed dairy industries to regain market share from private label producers. And the lower wholesale prices meant lower production costs and, hence, higher profit margins.
In 2022, cow’s milk producer prices had started at a relatively moderate €0.44 per liter. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February affected, among other things, animal feed prices, which spiked. Producer prices for milk reached above €0.60 per liter.
In 2023, the animal feed situation improved and prices slowly de-escalated. The year opened with producer prices at €0.58 per liter, but, slowly, they went under €0.50.
Price stability prevailed over the first five months of the year; producer prices have not returned to early 2022 levels and range between €0.51 and €0.52 per liter.
Retail milk prices in 2022 had risen 11.9% and sales volume had dropped 2.3%. More moderate price raises in 2023 resulted in sales volume rising 3.4%; in the first half of 2024, sales volume was up 6.6%, while prices declined 3.2%.
