October 13, 2011

Lithuania's dairy purchase reaches 1.051 million tonnes

For the first eight months of this year, Lithuanian dairy companies bought 1.051 million tonnes of milk, of which 82% were acquired from the domestic market and the rest from Latvia and Estonia, the Agricultural Information and Rural Business centre said.

The total volume of natural milk purchased from Lithuania's farmers increased by 2.7%, on year, to 862,500 tonnes in January-August.

Imports of raw milk soared by 42.7%. About 72% of imported milk was purchased in Latvia and the remaining part in Estonia.

The Lithuanian milk purchase companies sold 36,600 tonnes of milk to other EU Member States in the reporting period, up 96% on year. Exports of milk to Poland grew by 79.8%, to 28,410 tonnes, and to Latvia by 20.2%, to 3,600 tonnes.

The average purchase price of milk in Lithuania rose by 19.8%, on year, to LTL971.2 (US$387.8) per tonne, in January-August. The average price paid for milk imported from other EU Member States increased by 19.3%, to LTL1,100 (US$439.17) per tonne in the reporting period.