Spanish milk consumption falls

Milk consumption in Spain fell 4% last year, and dairy processors are developing new products amid uncertainty about the sector’s post-quota future, a Bord Bia analyst has said.

Madrid-based Bord Bia marketing executive, Roisin O’Sullivan, says only “low/no lactose” milk categories are seeing sales increases.

According to a recent article in Alimarket, after a slight increase in 2012 and a timid incremental growth in 2013 (+0.55%), milk consumption fell again 4% in volume terms in 2014. Average prices increased by 1.1%.

“Spanish dairy is facing uncertainty in April 2015 with the abolition of the quota system that for years has been the governing force behind the dairy sector,” Ms O’Sullivan says.

“The industry has witnessed a general decline in milk consumption, and only the category of ‘low/ no lactose’ varieties and other plant-based drinks have escaped,” she said.

According to the Spanish Society of Allergology and Immunology, lactose intolerance affects more than 10% of the Spanish society, which Ms O’Sullivan suggests as a possible explanation for the recent rise in plant-based milk consumption.