Food

Butter crisis in Europe: skyrocketing prices and stocks at risk

Rising global demand for butter, low stocks and record prices worry the food industry in Europe

by Silvia Marzialetti

10 July 2025

3' min read

Key points

Fao: butter prices at an all-time high
The causes.
Strong concern also in Italy

3' min read

"There will be months with slightly lower service levels, during which we will not be able to keep up with consumer demands for butter.

The statement to Les Echos by Jean-Marie Le Bris, director of consumer products at Laïta, one of France's leading dairy cooperatives, foreshadows ominous scenarios for lovers of patisserie and brioches from across the Alps.

As for coffee, cocoa, hazelnuts, the prices of butter for the industry are skyrocketing and - at the time of the year when production peaks - stocks remain at a minimum (against an almost stable demand). This phenomenon has been going on for a few years now, so much so that France, a dairy powerhouse, has become an importer of the product, with 210 thousand tonnes of butter and 19 thousand tonnes of concentrated butter in the last year alone, i.e. more than two thirds of national production.

Fao: butter prices at an all-time high

The problem does not only concern France but, as in all supply chains, is extremely generalised.

Butter reached a new all-time high in June. This was confirmed by the FAO dairy price index (updated on 4 July), which rose by 0.5% in June compared to the previous month. This is blamed on low supplies in Oceania and the EU, which is counterbalanced by strong demand from Asia. In the past year alone, demand in China increased by 6%, in Taiwan by 4%, and in India, the world's largest butter consumer, by 3%.

According to the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, global butter consumption is expected to (still) grow by 2.7% in 2025. At the same time, production is steadily declining in Europe. About 70% of the product exported worldwide comes from here and New Zealand (where production has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels). Both started 2025 with historically low stocks.

Dazi, Lollobrigida: "Evitarli è difficile, bisogna renderli assorbibili"

The causes

The genesis of this contraction in Europe dates back to 2022, when the price of milk peaked, due to inflation and high fuel prices, pushing companies to focus on more profitable products, such as cheese.

Herd management is also becoming more onerous and complicated due to overheating stress and diseases such as Blue Tongue. Contagious nodular dermatitis is also of concern, with four confirmed outbreaks in Sardinia and a new outbreak in the province of Mantua, for a total of more than 900 animals involved.

Strong concern also in Italy

"Prices are set to rise further due to the strong demand and the lower demand on the market for low-fat powders, the preparation of which produces excess fat used for butter," Michele Falzetta, general manager of Latteria Soresina, explains to Il Sole 24 Ore. "To this must be added the negative milk trend, which leads to a reduction in raw material," he adds. "As primary producers - we collect 500 million kilos of milk - we are focusing on the production of the fat material, so as not to be found unprepared in the autumn and to guarantee the product," he continues.

"For many months now, Italian butter companies have been concerned about the soaring wholesale quotations of the raw materials necessary for butter production," Assolatte reports. "In the space of just a few months, we have gone from wholesale quotations close to EUR 4.50/kg to values in excess of EUR 7/kg, with enormous difficulties in transferring the increases to sales prices. The situation now seems to have stabilised at levels far above last year's, but the concerns of Italian butter companies remain,' he says.