Lithuanian Dairy Farmers Struggle with Plummeting Milk Prices

A significant decline in milk prices has placed Lithuanian dairy farmers under severe financial strain. Since last autumn, farmgate prices have fallen by around a third. This has left many producers unable to meet payments for essential supplies, such as fuel and feed.

The Lithuanian Dairy Farmers Association reports that approximately 5,000 farms have exited the dairy sector in the last year. As a result, fewer than 7,400 farms currently sell milk commercially. To compensate for the local shortfall, processors are importing roughly 50,000 tonnes of milk each month from Latvia, Estonia, and Poland.

Ginkūnai Agrofirm in the Šiauliai district is one of the affected farms. Manager Arūnas Grubliauskis notes that they receive only 29 cents per litre, while production costs range from 32 to 35 cents. Despite retail prices for milk remaining steady at about €1.50 per litre, the farm struggles to remain profitable.

In the village of Buožėnai, Svetlana Burbienė's farm of 44 cows also faces financial woes. The farm earns 24 cents per litre, which does not cover their expenses, leading to delayed payments to suppliers. Burbienė cites the disparity between farmgate and retail prices as a significant challenge.

The cooperative Rešketėnai, collecting milk from around 700 farms in western Lithuania, is similarly pressured. Smaller farmers receive as little as 15 cents per litre, while the cooperative receives only 27 cents from processors. The cooperative has sought government assistance for rising fuel costs but has yet to receive support.

Eimantas Bičius of the Lithuanian Dairy Farmers Association emphasizes the sector's ongoing crisis, noting that only about 7,400 of the approximately 14,000 cow-keeping farms sell milk commercially. He highlights the structural issue of the processing industry outgrowing domestic milk production capabilities.