In several regions of Latvia, butter has disappeared from supermarket shelves. Consumers took to social media to note the shortage of butter in retail stores in November 2024.
Some reports question whether the empty shelves are related to the market crisis in neighboring Russia, where a standard 200g block of butter now costs around €2, with prices having risen by 30% since December 2023. However, Latvian officials have refrained from commenting on the reasons for the butter shortage.
Another issue is the reduction in the number of operating dairy farms in Latvia. The average purchase price in the country has jumped from €35.25 to €40.55 per 100 kg. In terms of purchase prices, Latvia has caught up with Slovenia but still lags behind Germany and France. Latvian dairy farmers are interested in cooperating with dairy processing enterprises. The chairman of the Piena Loģistika cooperative board, Jānis Ločmelis, reported that 102 dairy farmers have already united and signed long-term agreements with 10 dairy processing plants.
In Estonia, the butter shortage emerged in August 2024. Coop food retailer spokesperson Martin Mido believes that the butter shortage in Estonia is related to a lack of high-fat milk. Leading dairy producers in the country, such as Tere and Farmi, have recently moved butter production to new facilities. According to Mido, Coop had to switch to importing butter from other Baltic countries to address the product shortage.
According to local dairy producers, the excessively hot summer likely negatively impacted the dairy industry. Heat stress reduces cow productivity, leading to less milk being produced for butter production. A similar crisis occurred in the Baltic states in 2017, also resulting in a butter shortage on the market.
Source: dairyglobal
Press Service of the Association of Milk Producers
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