Milk soon cheaper: Discounters lower prices

Dairy products will soon become much cheaper. Several retailers announce price reductions.

Aldi announced on Tuesday that it would permanently reduce the prices for over 50 dairy products such as milk, cream and yoghurt by up to 15 percent from Wednesday. This means that the price for a liter of UHT milk or fresh whole milk from the Milsani brand should drop from 1.15 euros to 99 cents.

Other discounters are following suit. According to a statement, more than 350 dairy products at Kaufland will be cheaper from Wednesday. Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount also announced that they would reduce the prices for milk & co. “to a comparable extent”.

The step does not come as a surprise. The trade journal “Lebensmittel Zeitung” reported last week that the prices for dairy products had come under renewed pressure in the trade negotiations with the dairies. “There are signs of renewed price reductions for drinking milk and other standard White Line items,” the paper wrote.

It should only be a matter of time before the rest of the trade follows the price reduction. Dairy products are regarded as price points, which customers use as a guide when perceiving a retailer’s price.

However, the situation on the market could change again from autumn. According to the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”, the dairies then expect prices to rise again. “We are heading towards an undersupply,” the newspaper quoted the chairman of the Dairy Industry Association (MIV), Peter Stahl.