Feed, staff, energy: “Milk prices are no longer understandable”

Feed, staff, energy
“Milk prices are no longer understandable”

What does a dairy do with too much milk when there aren’t enough people willing to buy it? Manager Carola Appel from the Transparent Molkerei talks about crazy supply chains, the recently poorer image of milk and her view of substitute products.

What does a dairy do when it receives an abundance of milk – but too few people want to buy this milk? The Gläserne Molkerei from Brandenburg, a specialist in organic milk, faced this question last year. “The milk is a raw material that runs towards you – whether you want it or not,” says managing director Carola Appel in the podcast “The hour zero”. The company had to produce long-life products such as UHT milk, milk powder or cheese in no time at all in order to process the raw material.

Carol Apple. Managing Director of the “Gläsernen Molkerei”, which specializes in organic dairy products.

The dairies recorded sales slumps of up to 20 percent because customers bought fewer organic products in view of the high prices and also reduced their consumption overall. Feed, labor costs, energy inflation—all of these had driven up prices.

“We had millions of liters too much milk in Germany,” says Appel, “and that in a very short time.” The problem was exacerbated by the fact that farmers were producing even more organic milk than before. Payment prices, which had previously been 30 to 35 cents per liter, shot up to double, historic levels that even the former Müller manager Appel had never experienced. “It completely changed buying behavior,” she says.

In the meantime, the market has calmed down and the price fluctuations are falling sharply – but according to Appel, this is also causing problems. “Consumers can no longer understand these prices,” she says. “There they stand with astonished eyes in front of the shelf.” Butter is often sold particularly cheaply in order to draw customers into the market – without the price being justified.

Listen in the new episode of “The Zero Hour

  • Why Carola Appel doesn’t like oat milk
  • Which is why organic markets are finding fewer and fewer buyers
  • What Appel replies to the critics of milk production

All episodes can be found directly at RTL+, Apple or Spotify or via Google.

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