Europe is experiencing an unprecedented butter crisis with prices that reach heights. In Switzerland, the 250 gram brochure sells 3.95 francs (4.15 euros), unheard of for decades. In Germany, she exchanged at 2.39 euros, a record.
According to the European Commission, the price of wholesale butter jumped 44%on average between January and December 2024. Poland recorded an increase of 52%, Germany by 40%, and Russia by more than a third (and 100% in 2023).
Suddenly, the crisis takes an unusual turn in the East, says the “NZZ” on Saturday. Poland has released 1000 tonnes of butter from its strategic reserves to stabilize prices before the holiday season. And in Russia, some brands, faced with increasing flights, locked it on secure shelves, alongside luxury products like caviar. Online purchases have also been limited to prevent people from building stocks.
This outbreak is explained by a drop in production in 2024, Germany, Ireland and Poland, three of the four largest butter producers in the EU. A drop due to the high cost of raw materials and energy, a price of low milk and high transport costs. Not to mention the floods in central Europe and droughts in the South or even epidemics in cattle.
In addition, the fat content of milk was lower in 2024 than usual, without anyone knowing why, forcing to use more milk to produce the same amount of butter.
Finally, the number of cows in the EU has passed below 20 million for political and climatic reasons. Producers are therefore struggling to make their activity profitable and numerous farms close, especially in Germany, where 4% of the farms disappear each year.
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Why Russia and Poland are the most affected
It is no coincidence that the butter is soaring in the east. This is explained by the lower standard of living and especially the war in Ukraine. Energy prices in Poland have increased sharply since the Russian invasion, and the government has ceased to pay certain subsidies to the peasants. On the Russian side, farmers are desperately looking for labor, because men are all in war. The consequences of the conflict also increased production costs by half. Finally, Moscow’s isolation on the international scene as well as the devaluation of the ruble means that Europeans and milk exporters like New Zealand deliver less.
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