It is difficult to make an assessment of the dairy market given the current times. While it is true that we are coming from a stable 2015, this 2016 is not heading in the same direction. By this, I am referring to the sheep and goat milk market, as we all know the instability of cow’s milk for more than a year now.
This problem is not a national problem but an international problem due to the increase in milk production in Europe as a whole and the decrease in demand. Therefore, the industry must “adjust” which creates these price fluctuations.
We cannot forget that within the sheep dairy sector, Spain produces around 500 million liters per year, more than half of which are produced in Castilla y León, making it a very important sector for our economy.
It should be recalled that 2015 was a fairly good year with acceptable prices for both the livestock farmer and the dairy industry due to a slight drop in production and a considerable increase both in sales to other countries such as France and in the domestic market, thanks to the growing demand for sheep cheese.
However, this 2016 does not present the same scenario, due in part to the contagion of the cow’s milk industry, since the drop in cattle prices is also affecting the sheep and goat sector. In addition, exports to countries such as France and Italy have decreased.
This leads us to seek new markets for this sector in order to stabilize it and increase sales. Asian countries are increasingly presenting themselves as an opportunity for us. It is true that these are countries with a high level of lactose intolerance, but it should be remembered that sheep’s milk is much more digestible than cow’s milk, so we open a new scenario for both sheep’s milk and sheep’s cheese.
