Exploded butter prices: Nordsachsen before expensive Christmas time!

Exploded butter prices: Nordsachsen before expensive Christmas time!

Nordsachsen. The prices for butter have reached shockingly high heights in the past few weeks! In the supermarket, consumers have to pay between 2.40 and 2.70 euros for a 250 gram pack-and that's not all! Brand products can even cost over 4 euros! In the upcoming Christmas season, in which many households bake cookies and tunnels, butter is needed more than ever.

But what is behind this price increase? The answer is complex! According to Karin Bernhardt from the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LFULG), there are several reasons. A decisive factor is the decline in dairy cows in Germany, which can also be felt in Saxony. In 2023 there was 3 percent less dairy cows in Germany than in the previous year. In northern Saxony there are even over 500 cows less! This leads to a lower milk production that continued to go back to the season in October.

High energy prices drive butter prices to the height

But that's not all! The high energy prices, which have risen sharply since the Russia Ukraine War, additionally strain butter production. To produce butter, you need a lot of natural gas, and the cost of feed has also exploded. Despite these challenges, the dairy farmers received an average of 48.7 cents per liter of raw milk in September 2023, which means a slight improvement in the economic situation. But the uncertainty remains: the companies fight with strong price fluctuations and can hardly plan.

The situation will hardly change until Christmas, explain experts. Consumers have to prepare for high prices, while the dairies try to keep the price level stable. Butter production in Germany, the largest EU butter producer, remains tense and international milk prices continue to rise. The question remains: who will ultimately benefit from these developments?