German dairy farmers are currently getting more money for their "white gold" than they have in a long time - and yet they shouldn't be in too much of a party mood this Wednesday, World Milk Day.

Because the consumption of cow's milk in Germany has reached a low point: Every German consumed just 47.8 kilograms of so-called consumer milk - i.e. whole milk, skimmed, partially skimmed and preferential milk - on average in 2021. This is the lowest value since the beginning of all-German records in the year 1991

Jessica von Blazekovic

Editor in Business.

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The number, which is initially provisional, was calculated by the Federal Information Center for Agriculture (BZL).

Statisticians have been observing a downward trend there for some time.

In the past 50 years, milk consumption has therefore almost halved.

The decline has never been as clear as in 2021.

In the Corona year 2020, per capita consumption was an average of 50 kilograms and thus higher than in previous years, which the industry attributes to the stocking of households with UHT milk during the lockdowns.

The BZL cites the increased consumption of plant-based milk alternatives such as soy, oat or almond drinks as a possible reason for the downward trend.

However, the authority has not yet collected official figures for their consumption.

A look at the foreign trade statistics shows that the import of plant-based drinks increased by almost 350 percent between 2017 and 2021.

Oat milk accounted for the largest share of the German sales volume with 127 million liters most recently.

In surveys, consumers regularly cite animal and climate protection as a reason for consuming milk alternatives.

But they also accept higher prices: A liter of oat milk currently costs between 1.80 and almost three euros in retail, the same amount of whole milk is already available for 88 cents.

The climate balance of milk alternatives is not undisputed.

In a 2018 study by the University of Oxford, cow's milk performed worst compared to soy, oat, rice and almond drinks in terms of CO2 emissions as well as water and land use.

But there are also other voices: In a recent interview with the FAS, the agricultural scientist Wilhelm Windisch argued in favor of cow's milk, since dairy cattle farming on the same area produces more calories than the production of oat milk and is therefore more efficient.

The Association of Bavarian Milk Producers is concerned about the decision not to consume milk in favor of alternatives.

However, the plant drinks alone are not responsible for the decline: “Drinking milk as a food in the form of whole milk is not trendy.

We've noticed that for decades," said Managing Director Hans-Jürgen Seufferlein.

The consumption of processed dairy products such as butter and cheese, on the other hand, has remained constant or even increased.

Since the number of dairy farms in Germany is also declining, supply and demand are balanced.

Global milk consumption has been increasing for years.