Europe’s Butter Mountain Has Melted Away

Europeans are eating so much butter that the bloc’s stockpiles are nearly empty, adding to a rush of demand that has sent global prices skyrocketing.

The star of the U.S. dairy market in recent years, butter costs have now soared to all-time highs in Western Europe and Oceania. The gains have been aided by shifting consumer views on its healthy attributes and a recent slowdown in the growth of global milk output. France’s Federation of Bakeries has called the price rise a "major crisis."