Lack of demand: Swiss organic farmers have to sell milk cheaper

The demand for organic milk in Switzerland is growing, but not strongly enough. Many newly converted organic farms have to sell milk at a lower price.

By 2020, hundreds of Swiss farms will be producing organically. But this poses problems for the dairy farmers themselves. While the demand for organic milk is growing in the Alpine country, the growth is not strong enough. The Landwirtschaftliche Informationsdienst (LID; engl: Agricultural Information Service) reports that newly transitioned organic farmers will therefore have to sell their milk to the conventional market at a lower price than originally planned.

According to LID, starting in the new year another 155 dairy farmers will operate following the Bio Suisse guidelines, thus adding another 23 million kilograms of milk (or 9 percent of the existing market). According to the association Mittelland Milch, the supply of organic milk will definitely exceed demand in 2020.

Bio Suisse wants to boost demand for organic milk

As a first reaction to the oversupply, the organic milk organisations will keep waiting lists, reports the Swiss information service SID. Additionally, Bio Suisse intends to work with market players to intensify sales promotion directly at the points of sale in order to boost demand.

According to Bio Suisse, dairy products are the biggest sales driver in the organic market. According to SID, a total of around 3,300 farms in Switzerland produce over 245,000 tons of milk in organic quality.

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