UK dairy exports contract together with the milk production

UK milk production remained positive, increasing by 1.48%, or 102 million kilo, during the first five months of 2026. However, both April and May recorded negative year-on-year growth. UK milk production 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 March 1,413,700,000 1,442,400,000 2.03% 28,700,000 April 1,444,100,000 1,440,300,000 -0.26% -3,800,000 May 1,504,300,000 1,489,800,000 -0.96% -14,500,000 Total 6,896,300,000 6,998,500,000 1.48% 102,200,000 UK dairy exports weakened in May, declining by 3.62%, or 3 million kilo LME, compared with a decrease of 18.39%, or 71 million kilo LME, in April. Most product categories recorded lower exports, with the exceptions of SMP, WPC80/WPI, FFMP, infant formula (I/F), cheese, and condensed milk. The strongest increases during May were recorded for SMP, cheese, and condensed milk. UK dairy exports - May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 6,814 8,568 1,754 25.74% WMP 2,268 384 -1,884 -83.07% Whey 6,074 5,389 -685 -11.28% WPC80/WPI's 1,891 2,138 247 13.06% Lactose 1,221 946 -275 -22.52% FFMP 194 287 93 47.94% I/F 1,084 1,089 5 0.46% Cheese 17,909 21,927 4,018 22.44% Butter 3,253 2,401 -852 -26.19% AMF 1,908 1,425 -483 -25.31% Cream 4,599 2,882 -1,717 -37.33% Fermented 4,641 2,095 -2,546 -54.86% Condensed 7,070 8,418 1,348 19.07% Milk 59,154 48,076 -11,078 -18.73% Year-to-date (YTD) exports through May remained positive despite declines in WMP, whey, lactose, infant formula, AMF, cream, and liquid milk. YTD exports increased by 1.70%, or 28 million kilo LME, compared with an increase of 1.60%, or 21 million kilo LME, reported in April. UK dairy exports - YTD May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 29,226 40,546 11,320 38.73% WMP 5,191 3,965 -1,226 -23.62% Whey 31,226 27,513 -3,713 -11.89% WPC80/WPI's 8,545 9,159 614 7.19% Lactose 5,566 3,792 -1,774 -31.87% FFMP 1,010 1,162 152 15.05% I/F 5,083 4,247 -836 -16.45% Cheese 85,002 95,765 10,763 12.66% Butter 11,574 14,426 2,852 24.64% AMF 8,273 7,203 -1,070 -12.93% Cream 18,919 16,861 -2,058 -10.88% Fermented 18,698 21,621 2,923 15.63% Condensed 22,793 28,935 6,142 26.95% Milk 355,210 280,071 -75,139 -21.15% In contrast to the previous month, imports declined in May by 2.53%, or 10 million kilo LME, following an increase of 2.28%, or 5 million kilo LME, in April. UK dairy imports - May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 1,414 1,178 -236 -16.69% WMP 1,051 1,359 308 29.31% Whey 5,737 5,868 131 2.28% WPC80/WPI's 1,353 1,291 -62 -4.58% Casein 361 494 133 36.84% Caseinates 32 10 -22 -68.75% MPC 230 381 151 65.65% Lactose 602 494 -108 -17.94% I/F 3,717 4,236 519 13.96% Cheese 42,381 40,602 -1,779 -4.20% Butter 3,601 4,148 547 15.19% AMF 667 274 -393 -58.92% Cream 1,354 1,395 41 3.03% Fermented 27,322 29,773 2,451 8.97% Condensed 5,090 4,639 -451 -8.86% Milk 33,552 24,938 -8,614 -25.67% Imports decreased across eight product categories. Growth was recorded in WMP, whey, casein, MPC, infant formula, butter, cream, and fermented products. The most significant increases were seen in MPC, WMP, and fermented products.YTD imports have remained below last year's levels throughout 2026. Although the import deficit narrowed each month through April, this trend reversed in May as the decline in imports widened again. The monthly YTD changes were -2.18% in January, -3.84% in February, -4.53% in March, -1.98% in April, and -4.19% in May. As a result, YTD imports through May stood at -4.19%, or 79 million kilo LME, compared with -1.98% in April. UK dairy imports - YTD May Commodity 2025 2026 ∆ ∆% SMP 5,784 8,386 2,602 44.99% WMP 5,861 6,947 1,086 18.53% Whey 30,522 24,091 -6,431 -21.07% WPC80/WPI's 7,232 6,317 -915 -12.65% Casein 1,595 1,870 275 17.24% Caseinates 240 190 -50 -20.83% MPC 696 1,684 988 141.95% Lactose 3,431 2,086 -1,345 -39.20% I/F 23,479 18,810 -4,669 -19.89% Cheese 192,098 198,230 6,132 3.19% Butter 20,101 22,279 2,178 10.84% AMF 3,340 1,086 -2,254 -67.49% Cream 10,565 7,349 -3,216 -30.44% Fermented 127,287 140,395 13,108 10.30% Condensed 22,336 2,399 -19,937 -89.26% Milk 97,223 84,152 -13,071 -13.44% The YTD May change in dairy stocks and domestic consumption amounted to -72 million kilo LME. This is equivalent to 1.30% of YTD May milk production and approximately 1.03% of YTD May domestic consumption.