GOATS MILK IN EUROPE

European goat breeding has a strong dairy specialization; with 3% of t he world goat population Europe produces 17% of the world goat milk. T he number of goats within the EEC (14.5 million) has been increasing f or the last 10 years. They represent 83% of the number of goats in Eur ope. The production of goat milk is mainly found in southern countries of Europe: Greece, Spain and France produce 86% of the milk in the EE C. The systems of production are different: the extensive breeding far ms and the small flocks decrease. Specialized milk farms delivering th eir milk to industry are developing. The systems of transformation on the farm are getting more modem. The industrial transformation of the milk is important in France and in Spain but poorly developed in the o ther countries. Goat milk is mainly transformed into cheeses consumed differently in every country Goat cheeses suffer from a lack of protec tion for their traditional denominations. The development of the produ ction of milk and goat cheeses is directly linked to the markets which are not well-know in certain countries and which remain mainly nation al.