Raw Milk Price for Milk Products Frozen for Second Year in a Row

Raw Milk Price for Drinking Milk Products to Remain at 1,084 Won per Liter

The price of raw milk, the main ingredient in milk, will be frozen for the second consecutive year following last year.

Milk displayed in the store. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on May 27, the Korea Dairy Committee, which consists of dairy farmers and representatives from the dairy industry, has decided not to convene the subcommittee responsible for this year's raw milk price negotiations. This is because the change in raw milk production costs did not meet the threshold required to initiate negotiations. Negotiations are held only when the fluctuation in raw milk production costs is 4% or higher, but last year, production costs increased by only 1.5% compared to the previous year.

As a result, the price of raw milk for drinking milk products will remain at 1,084 won per liter. The price of raw milk for processed products such as cheese and powdered milk will also remain unchanged at 882 won per liter.

Although each dairy company can set its own raw milk price, they usually follow the base price determined by the Korea Dairy Committee. Last year, the production cost of raw milk increased by 4.6% compared to the previous year, leading to the convening of the subcommittee and price negotiations. However, considering the high inflation, the price of raw milk for drinking was frozen. Additionally, the price of raw milk for processing was reduced by 5 won, from 887 won to 882 won.

This year, since no negotiations were held, the price of raw milk for drinking will remain the same for the second consecutive year. The price of raw milk was also frozen for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020.

Attention is now focused on whether the retail price of white milk products will also remain unchanged following the decision to freeze raw milk prices. However, even if the price of raw milk is frozen, the consumer prices of each dairy company’s products may still fluctuate depending on their pricing policies and other factors.