UK dairy trade slows in June

The UK dairy market showed contrasting developments in the first half of 2026. While milk production remained above last year’s levels and exports maintained year-to-date growth, recent monthly developments point to some pressure, with considerable differences across product categories. UK Milk production has been positive at + 0,76% or + 63 million kgs in the first six months of 2026 but April, May, and June have been negative: UK Milk Production 2025 2026 ∆% ∆ jan 1.321.600.000 1.370.200.000 3,68% 48.600.000 feb 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 1.441.300.000 -0,19% -2.800.000 May 1.504.300.000 1.487.700.000 -1,10% -16.600.000 June 1.399.100.000 1.360.900.000 -2,73% -38.200.000 YTD June 8.295.400.000 8.358.300.000 0,76% 62.900.000 UK exports have been weak in June and decreased by -8,63% or -27 million kgs LME, coming from -3,62%, or -3 million kgs LME in May.Most products saw decreases, except WMP, WPC80/WPI, Lactose, Cheese, Butter, and Condensed. Extraordinary increases in June were seen in WMP, Lactose, Cheese, and Condensed. UK Exports June 2026 June '25 June '26 ∆ ∆% SMP 8.170 7.713 -457 -5,59% WMP 313 1.042 729 232,91% Whey 5.423 4.115 -1.308 -24,12% WPC80/WPI's 1.606 1.649 43 2,68% Lactose 617 856 239 38,74% FFMP 298 180 -118 -39,60% I/F 1.280 1.033 -247 -19,30% Cheese 15.720 20.510 4.790 30,47% Butter 2.081 2.394 313 15,04% AMF 2.212 1.558 -654 -29,57% Cream 4.217 2.788 -1.429 -33,89% Fermented 1.888 1.408 -480 -25,42% Condensed 3.797 6.528 2.731 71,93% Milk 58.846 19.304 -39.542 -67,20% YTD June exports continued positively with declines in Whey, Lactose, I/F, AMF, Cream, and Milk. YTD June exports recorded an increase of +2,12% or 42 million kgs LME, coming from +1,70%, or 28 million kgs LME in May. UK Exports YTD June 2026 YTD June '25 YTD June '26 ∆ ∆% SMP 37.396 49.307 11.911 31,85% WMP 5.504 7.747 2.243 40,75% Whey 36.649 31.628 -5.021 -13,70% WPC80/WPI's 10.151 10.808 657 6,47% Lactose 6.183 4.648 -1.535 -24,83% FFMP 1.308 1.364 56 4,28% I/F 6.363 5.280 -1.083 -17,02% Cheese 100.722 116.275 15.553 15,44% Butter 13.655 18.243 4.588 33,60% AMF 10.485 8.761 -1.724 -16,44% Cream 23.136 19.649 -3.487 -15,07% Fermented 20.586 23.139 2.553 12,40% Condensed 26.590 35.463 8.873 33,37% Milk 414.056 303.123 -110.933 -26,79% Like the previous month, imports were negative in June at -1,25% or -5 million kgs LME, coming from -2,53% or -10 million kgs LME in May. UK Imports June 2026 June '25 June '26 ∆ ∆% SMP 1.673 1.279 -394 -23,55% WMP 2.860 1.711 -1.149 -40,17% Whey 5.176 5.685 509 9,83% WPC80/WPI's 1.342 1.296 -46 -3,43% Casein 379 297 -82 -21,64% Caseinates 37 38 1 2,70% MPC 236 378 142 60,17% Lactose 823 321 -502 -61,00% I/F 3.871 4.176 305 7,88% Cheese 39.849 41.477 1.628 4,09% Butter 4.278 4.269 -9 -0,21% AMF 677 260 -417 -61,60% Cream 1.525 1.912 387 25,38% Fermented 29.846 30.266 420 1,41% Condensed 4.239 4.673 434 10,24% Milk 20.950 18.641 -2.309 -11,02% Negative import changes were recorded in eight of the product categories. Growth was seen in Whey, Caseinates, MPC, I/F, Cheese, Cream, Fermented, and Condensed. An extraordinary growth was recorded in MPC.YTD Imports have been negative the whole year but we have seen the deficit go down each month. Respectively: Jan -2,18%, Feb -3,84%, March -4,53%, April -1,98%, May -4,19%, and June again lower at -1,72%. YTD June imports concluded at -1,72% or -39 million kgs LME, coming from -4,19% in May. UK Imports YTD June 2026 YTD June '25 YTD June '26 ∆ ∆% 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 dairy stock/ domestic consumption change amounts to -98 million kgs LME. This is +1,18% of YTD June milk production and nearly 1,0% of domestic consumption YTD June.