Piedmont milk deliveries rise 5.82% as farm prices remain below 2025 levels
Piedmont delivered 791,782 tonnes of cow’s milk in the first seven months of 2026, up 5.82% year on year. Prices have recovered from their spring low, but the August producer price index remained 21.1% below the previous year.
Regional milk growth outpaces Italy
Cow’s milk deliveries in Piedmont reached 791,782 tonnes in the first seven months of 2026, an increase of 5.82% from the same period of 2025, according to L’Unione Monregalese. The expansion exceeded the national rate reported by ISMEA, which recorded a 3.5% increase in Italian milk production during the first four months of the year.
The figures show that Piedmont’s dairy farms are maintaining and expanding output despite a difficult pricing environment. Higher volumes can support processing activity and improve the utilization of regional dairy capacity, but they do not automatically translate into stronger farm income. The commercial result depends on whether processors and the wider market can absorb the additional milk at prices that cover production costs.
Spot quotation recovers from spring low
Italian spot milk quoted in Milan fell to €21.60 per 100 liters in March before recovering to around €47 per 100 liters in September. Even after that rebound, the quotation remained below its level in the corresponding period of 2025. The ISMEA producer price index for cow’s milk was also 21.1% lower year on year in August.
The difference between the spring low and the September quotation points to a significant market recovery, but farm-level remuneration remains the central concern. Spot prices indicate conditions for milk traded outside longer-term supply agreements and do not necessarily show how much individual producers receive under their contracts.
Enrico Allasia, president of Confagricoltura Piemonte, described the recovery in quotations as positive but said it was necessary to establish how much of the improvement was reaching farms. He noted that producers were increasing output while continuing to bear substantial costs for feed, energy, fuel, labor and investment. For dairy businesses, the decisive measure is therefore the relationship between the milk price received and the costs incurred.
Price agreement sets a path for northern Italy
An agreement reached at the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry in June established a base-price path for northern Italy within reference volumes. It set the price at €0.48 per liter for July and August, rising to €0.50 per liter for November and December.
The agreed progression offers farms a clearer price reference for the second half of the year, but its effect on margins will depend on contract coverage, eligible volumes and operating costs. The regional increase of 5.82% also raises the importance of coordination between farms and processors: if supply grows more quickly than demand or processing capacity, the additional volume can limit producers’ bargaining position.
Allasia said production growth could become an advantage only if the dairy chain was able to absorb and add value to the milk. For Piedmont’s farmers and processors, the immediate issue is not output alone, but the balance between production, processing and final demand. Adequate farm remuneration will determine whether producers can continue investing while sustaining the higher level of supply.
