Rising UK milk supply supports higher exports in the UK, while imports decline

UK dairy exports remained strong in January, increasing by 19.61%, equivalent to an additional 54 million kilos LME. This follows an exceptionally high export performance in December, when volumes rose by 66.53%.Export growth was observed across most product categories, except for lactose, infant formula, AMF, cream, and liquid milk. Particularly notable increases in January were recorded for SMP, cheese, butter, and fermented dairy products. UK dairy exports in January Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 4,056 5,402 1,346 33.19% WMP 725 773 48 6.62% Whey 4,919 5,041 122 2.48% WPC80/WPI's 1,415 1,695 280 19.79% Lactose 798 308 -490 -61.40% FFMP 151 293 142 94.04% I/F 743 584 -159 -21.40% Cheese 16,181 25,768 9,587 59.25% Butter 1,679 2,855 1,176 70.04% AMF 1,591 1,349 -242 -15.21% Cream 3,675 2,874 -801 -21.80% Fermented 3,440 7,598 4,158 120.87% Condensed 3,132 4,317 1,185 37.84% Milk 61,151 51,101 -10,050 -16.43% Imports declined in January, aligning with the significant increase in UK milk production in 2025, which rose by 763 million kilos. Elevated milk output has continued into 2026. Milk production in the UK Month 2025 2026 ∆% ∆ January 1,321,600,000 1,370,200,000 3.68% 48,600,000 February 1,212,600,000 1,255,800,000 3.56% 43,200,000 YTD February 2,534,200,000 2,626,000,000 3.62% 91,800,000 Import volumes decreased across most key product categories, apart from SMP, WPC80/WPI, butter, fermented products, and liquid milk. Overall, imports fell by 2.18%, corresponding to a reduction of 7.65 million kilos LME. UK dairy imports in January Product 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1,007 2,346 1,339 133.00% WMP 1,290 1,161 -129 -10.00% Whey 5,639 4,004 -1,635 -29.00% WPC80/WPI's 1,207 1,497 290 24.00% Lactose 718 560 -158 -22.00% I/F 3,625 3,081 -544 -15.00% Cheese 38,134 37,371 -763 -2.00% Butter 3,927 4,437 510 13.00% AMF 770 154 -616 -80.00% Cream 1,963 1,590 -373 -19.00% Fermented 23,542 26,838 3,296 14.00% Condensed 4,621 4,529 -92 -2.00% Milk 9,909 10,702 793 8.00% Year-to-date (January), the dairy stock change stands at 9.86%, reaching a total of 687 million kilos LME. This is equivalent to 26.27% of the year-to-date February milk production.