Dairy Products Denmark s total milk production is 4.5 million metric tons, of which 12 percent, or 519,000 MT, is used as fresh milk for consumption. The rest is processed into cheese, butter and dry milk. With Denmark exporting more than 80 percent of its dairy production, the specific production of different dairy commodities is determined by market opportunities. The Danish spreadable butter product marketed under the brand name Lurpak Spreadable has increased sales in Denmark and the UK and is now on the German market. The EU is increasingly the primary outlets for Denmark s dairy exports and now account for more than 70 percent of the total.
Major markets are the UK, Saudi Arabia and Germany.
Denmark is successfully exporting all dairy production not used for domestic consumption, but at depressed prices. Consumption of organic milk constitutes about 21 percent of all fresh milk but is now growing at a reduced rate. Markets for organic dairy products in Germany and UK are being explored more aggressively. The almost complete discontinuation of butter exports to Russia during 1999 hurt the EU dairy product markets and lowered prices at most markets. With declining sales to third country markets, bulk prices are declining.