Ľubica Kubicová

Milk consumption is a very important part of consumers’ daily diet due to its positive health effect. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the market of milk and dairy products. The paper analyzes the development of milk consumption in V4 countries, which was described by using regression functions. The data were obtained from the statistical offices of chosen countries. Based on the achieved results it was found that in Slovakia and Hungary milk consumption is very low, but in the Czech Republic and Poland consumption is recorded in the range of recommended doses and is sufficient. Looking to the future, based on the described trend of consumption, it is possible to assume that the situation in the Slovak Republic will be accompanied by unfavorable developments and in comparison with other V4 countries, Slovakia will consume the least milk and dairy products per capita. Moreover, a questionnaire survey orientated on the level of milk consumption and consumer behavior was conducted on the sample of 518 respondents. Average Slovak consumers consume daily 1 glass of milk, 20 g of cheese, 70 g of curds, and 250 g of sour-milk or other dairy product. Depending on the level of consumption, 3 consumer segments were defined for which different consumer behavior was identified, especially in the issue of factor assessment. In general, however, it is concluded that the quality and price of milk and dairy products are crucial for consumers to make their choice.

Acknowledgment
This paper is supported by the Operational Program Integrated Infrastructure within the project: Demand-driven research for the sustainable and innovative food, Drive4SIFood 313011V336, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.