United Kingdom Whey & Products insights

GB milk deliveries through the milk year to date have contracted in supply terms as a result of the poor weather seen from Autumn last year through to Spring this year. In the milk year to date GB supplies have been back by 0.9%.   July was back by 0.4% and August by 0.5%. This was due to disappointing grass growth and quality going into summer and lack of farmer confidence given continued high input costs and costs of borrowing.  Off the back of this trend the AHDB forecast revision in September expected the 2024/25 season to end at 0.3% down year-on-year.

This year, the world has seen a decrease in the production of raw milk under the influence of the weather and as a result of the increase in the cost of production. In Ukraine, milk yields began to fall from the end of June due to the heat and long-term power outages caused by Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure facilities. A reduction in the supply of raw milk and a shortage of milk fat contributed to the increase in raw milk prices in various regions.

UK milk deliveries in the second quarter of the calendar year amounted to 3,965m litres (-0.8%) lower year-on-year. Milk supplies tightened following the wet spring, which has been continuing from the previous autumn. Overall, the decline in milk deliveries impacted the production of most dairy products during the second quarter of 2024. Production of butter and cheese declined during the period whilst milk powders increased marginally.