With a turnover in 2004 of more than 20 billion euros and a workforce of 39,200, Germany's milk and dairy producers make up the strongest sector within the country's food industry. Exports account for around 19 percent of overall sales (i.e. 3.83 billion euros), so that the sector also achieves the very top ranking in terms of foreign trade.

Overall sales and export shares for the German dairy industry



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The dairy industry in Germany is traditionally populated by small and medium-size enterprises. The industry cannot, however, ignore the general shift towards globalisation, and relentless price pressure in the market as a result of this trend has led businesses to respond by continuing to streamline their operations. Dairy suppliers will continue to join forces in the face of such reigning market pressure. The industry hopes to use strategic alliances to achieve a calculated bundling of its ...

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In recent years, the majority of operators in the milk-processing business have their own systems of quality assurance - systems which currently take things well above and beyond the already stringent legal prescriptions (see Laws and Directives). Traders and purchasers are demanding that the food industry confirms its production and monitoring processes by way of a quality management system and thus achieves more transparency in terms of quality ...

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