South Korea will freeze raw milk prices again this year, marking the second year in a row without a price change.
On May 27, the Korea Dairy Committee-a group comprising dairy farmers and milk processors-announced there would be no negotiations in 2025.
The decision was based on the fact that production costs rose only 1.5% last year, below the 4% threshold required to trigger pricing talks.
As a result, the price of drinking-grade raw milk will stay at $0.8 per liter, while processed-grade milk used for products like cheese and powdered milk remains at $0.6 per liter.
In 2024, the processed-grade price was cut by about 0.5 cents per liter, while the drinking-grade price was kept flat amid inflation concerns.
With this latest decision, South Korea will maintain the same drinking-grade milk price for two straight years. A similar freeze occurred from 2018 to 2020.
Observers are watching to see whether retail milk prices will also remain stable. Although manufacturers can set their own prices, they typically follow the guidelines issued by the Korea Dairy Committee.
