Southern Ireland is the biggest dairy producer in Europe but for how long?

Many in the dairy industry fear that threats to Ireland's nitrates derogation will topple the region from its EU-leading position as a milk producer

At €2.4bn, Southern Ireland topped Bretagne in France (€2bn) and Lombardia in Italy (€1.8bn) for dairy production.

Southern Ireland is the EU's land of milk while Castilla y León in Spain is its breadbasket.

For statistical purposes, the European Union is divided into 242 regions, and Eurostat has announced that the Southern Ireland region produced the highest value of milk of all 242 regions in 2021, the most recent year for which these figures are available.