Production increase for fresh dairy products of Belgian dairy farms in 2021

Agriculture & fishery
Production increase for fresh dairy products of Belgian dairy farms in 2021

Compared to the last five years (period 2016-2020), Belgian dairy farms register a significant increase in fresh dairy products and farm butter, whereas the production of drinking milk and milk powder shows a significant decrease. The production of natural cheese stagnates in 2021.

Compared to the previous period, 2021 shows an increase in the production of condensed milk of no less than 76% and 14% for farm butter. Fresh dairy products show an increase of almost 11%. The production of goat’s cheese decreases by 15%.

Drinking milk is the main product group

Drinking milk, milk drinks and fresh dairy products are the most important products in the Belgian dairy industry. In 2021, the total production of drinking milk (chocolate milk and milk with added vitamins included) amounted to 831 million litres.

As for drinking milk, semi-skimmed milk is produced the most, although its production has decreased by 11% in 2021 compared to the last 5 years. The increase in whole milk and buttermilk of 5% each is particularly striking. As for milk drinks, the production of chocolate milk increased by 18%, whereas the production of milk with added vitamins fell by 45%.

in 1000 litres 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Difference 2021/2020 Difference 2021/5-year average
Drinking milk 860,651 843,282 848,550 857,913 892,986 830,886 -7.0% -3.5%
whole milk 184,155 198,902 211,863 228,184 237,808 223,720 -5.9% +5.4%
semi-skimmed milk 440,488 416,570 392,999 383,515 407,862 364,213 -10.7% -10.8%
skimmed milk 43,042 42,018 47,728 44,145 49,892 40,889 -18.0% -9.9%
buttermilk 20,245 20,233 18,320 17,850 21,153 20,553 -2.8% +5.1%
milk drinks
chocolate milk 135,505 120,042 132,158 141,177 146,382 159,359 +8.9% +18.0%
milk with added vitamins 37,216 45,517 45,483 43,043 29,890 22,152 -25.9% -44.9%
Source (mandatory acknowledgement): Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium

The production of fermented milk increases the most

Fresh dairy products such as yoghurt, fermented milk drinks, cream and desserts are the second largest category in the Belgian dairy production with a total production volume of 683 million litres. Here, too, there is a sustained growth of 10% in 2021 compared to the previous five years.

Notable increases can be observed in the production of fermented milk, desserts and cream with 16%, 9% and 7% respectively. The production increase of yoghurt remains limited to 3%.

in 1000 litres 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Difference 2021/2020 Difference 2021/5-year average
Fresh dairy products 585,258 582,203 641,609 649,432 632,620 683,092 +8.0% +10.5%
yoghurt 54,893 52,700 47,074 46,986 49,699 51,754 +4.1% +3.0%
fermented milk 214,300 206,024 251,281 248,188 262,038 273,177 +4.3% +15.6%
consumer cream 227,123 227,828 239,751 247,180 227,309 251,146 +10.5% +7.4%
desserts 88,942 95,650 103,503 107,079 93,575 107,015 +14.4% +9.5%
Source (mandatory acknowledgement): Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium

Production of farm butter twice as high as blended butter

Butter production in 2021 amounts to 91,000 tonnes. This is an overall decrease of 3% compared to the previous 5 years. The 32% decrease in blended butter is compensated by a 14% increase in farm butter.

in tonnes 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Difference 2021/2020 Difference 2021/5-year average
Butter 89,646 91,163 93,624 96,146 95,036 90,675 -4.6% -2.6%
farm butter 52,496 55,377 60,547 64,494 63,124 67,445 +6.8% +13.9%
blended butter 37,150 35,786 33,076 31,652 31,912 23,230 -27.2% -31.5%
Source (mandatory acknowledgement): Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium

Cheese production rises further

In 2021, some 109,000 tonnes of cheese were produced in Belgium, including 97,000 tonnes of natural cheese. During the last period, the production of natural cheese remained at the same level. However, the production of fresh cheese has increased by 42%, mainly due to an increase of 65% in the past year. The production of goat’s cheese decreases by 15% compared to the last 5 years. The production share of goat's cheese remains very limited. In order to produce 7,400 tonnes of goat's cheese, 73 million litres of goat's milk were collected in Belgium and abroad. The share of Belgium's own goat's milk is limited to 48%.

in tonnes 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Difference 2021/2020 Difference 2021/5-year average
Cheese 104,074 110,334 106,716 104,837 103,435 109,002 +5.4% +2.9%
Fresh 11,366 9,589 7,843 7,300 7,491 12,364 +65.0% +41.8%
Natural cheese 92,709 100,745 98,874 97,537 95,943 96,638 +0.7% -0.5%
 
Goat's cheese 5,808 7,965 9,560 9,843 10,078 7,368 -26.9% -14.8%
Source (mandatory acknowledgement): Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium

More condensed milk, less milk powder and ice cream

In the remaining categories, the production of consumer ice cream is declining. While in 2016, 74,000 litres of ice cream were still produced, in 2021, only 64,000 litres were produced, i.e. a decrease of 8% over the average productions of the period 2016-2020.

In milk powder production there is a noticeable drop of 7%, mainly due to the lower production of unskimmed milk powder by 25% and skimmed milk powder by 4% compared to the last 5 years. The other milk powders experienced an increase of 9%. They include high-quality raw materials for the food industry such as baby food and sports food.

Finally, for condensed milk and whey there is a noticeable increase of no less than 76% in 2021.

in 1,000 litres or tonne 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Difference 2021/2020 Difference 2021/5-year average
Consumer ice cream 73,888 70,688 71,392 66,389 63,629 63,843 +0.3% -7.7%
 
Milk powder 210,060 228,468 250,183 246,095 252,604 219,832 -13.0% -7.4%
non-skimmed 36,252 55,442 53,805 54,831 70,395 40,408 -42.6% -25.4%
skimmed 163,266 154,651 171,101 163,644 156,342 156,000 -0.2% -3.6%
other 10,542 18,374 25,277 27,620 25,867 23,425 -9.4% +8.8%
 
Condensed milk and whey 50,754 29,961 26,595 47,467 65,570 77,660 +18.4% +76.2%

Source (mandatory acknowledgement): Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium