Dairy farmers vote for fusion: Europe's largest whey cooperative is created!

Dairy farmers vote for fusion: Europe's largest whey cooperative is created!

The dairy farmers of northern Germany have decided: In separate meetings, representatives of the dairy cooperatives DMK and ARLA gave the green light for a merger. This could be paved by the way to the largest whey cooperative in Europe. Among other things, over 200 dairy farmers from DMK have gathered in Hanover to discuss the far -reaching plans. The approval of it was clear - the plans were approved with great support.

The merger between the DMK, the administrative seat of which is located in Bremen, and the Danish company Arla could unite around 12,000 farmers. Together, the two cooperatives bring brands such as Milram, Humana and Osterland under one roof. The new size also has economic dimensions: Together DMK and Arla achieve annual sales of almost 19 billion euros and employ around 28,700 people.

background of the fusion

The idea of ​​the merger was already rolled in April 2025. Both companies hope for a stronger market position and synergies through the merger in order to be able to react better to the challenges of the milk market. First, however, the EU competition authority's approval must be made, which has time until the end of March 2026, to decide on a possible merger. Until then, the DMK and Arla act separately.

A look at milk production in Germany and the EU shows why this step is necessary. Germany is the largest producer of cow's milk in Europe - in 2023 production was around 32.4 million tons. An end to the quota system in milk production in 2015 has caused the farmers to decide their scope of production independently. Since then, however, the framework conditions in the milk market have changed, partly to the disadvantage of dairy farmers.

market and production in change

The competition on the European milk market is already very large, with countries such as France or the Netherlands also have high production numbers. In Germany, milk production rose by 1.5 % in 2023, and the total year production in the EU has reached 144.7 million tons. A ray of hope, even if many smaller dairy farms in the EU threatens to die out: the number of dairy farms has dropped by 16 % between 2016 and 2020.

In this changing environment, the merger of the DMK and Arla could be a real step in order to be prepared for future challenges. The dairy farmers hope not only to stabilize their yields, but also a better negotiating position towards the food trade.

How to continue developments remains to be seen - the approval of the competitive authorities will decide on the next steps.

vigzt puzzlest piece in the mosaic of the European whey market market: DMK and Arla are planning great ones. Stay tuned for more messages!

Read more here: Tagesschau , hna , and Destatis .