Market indicators

Updated 25 February 2026

The Actual Milk Price Equivalent (AMPE), Milk for Cheese Value Equivalent (MCVE) and Milk Market Value (MMV) provide general estimates on market returns and the current market value of milk. They are based on UK wholesale price movements and can be used to identify general market price trends. They are updated on a monthly basis.

• AMPE (Actual Milk Price Equivalent) is an indicator of the factory gate value of a litre of milk used for butter and skimmed milk powder

• MCVE (Milk for Cheese Value Equivalent) is an indicator of the factory gate value of a litre of milk used for mild Cheddar and whey powder/butter.

• MMV (Milk Market Value) is an indicator of the average market value of a litre of milk based on typical utilisation of milk in the UK. Movements in the MMV correlate strongly with changes in farmgate milk prices in 3 months’ time

Production costs and yields have been adjusted in September 2025 following a full review. This calculation has been back-dated for 12 months to enable year-on-year comparison of trends.

As the data for these adjustments is always in arrears, AMPE and MCVE can only estimate actual market returns.

Figure 1. AMPE and MCVE

Source: AHDB

AMPE is Actual Milk Price Equivalent, MCVE is Milk for Cheese Value Equivalent

Figure 1 shows market indicators AMPE and MCVE for the past three years. The vertical axis shows price in pence per litre (ppl).

Two lines are shown. Both are close together and track each other closely.

Blue shows AMPE and green MCVE. Both lines have been falling since the peak in August 2024 but began to increase in January 2026.  

Table 1. AMPE components (ppl)

Table 2. MCVE components (ppl)

Source: AHDB

Figure 2. Milk Market Value (MMV) (ppl)

Source: AHDB

Figure 2 shows the Milk Market Value. The left axis shows the value in ppl.  

The blue line peaked in August 2024 and has since fallen until January 2026 when it saw a slight increase.  

Table 3. Milk Market Value (MMV)

Source: AHDB

The AMPE and MCVE calculations were reviewed in September 2025 to take into account higher milk compositional quality and changing production costs. A summary of the changes is available to download below.

The changes will be implemented from 25 September 2025. For a transition period of 6 month (until March 2026) we will dual-report based on the 2020 (indexed) and 2025 calculations.

The next update on production costs will take place in September 2026 and will be updated along with yields annually.

Please note that AMPE and MCVE calculations do not include the cost of transport of milk to the dairy.

According to a 2014 survey of members of Dairy UK, the range of transport costs that can be encountered in the UK dairy industry are from 0.9ppl to 4.8ppl.

The lower limit typically applies to purchasers with compact milk fields with larger farmers, while purchasers with geographically dispersed milk fields and smaller, less accessible farmers pay up to 2.4ppl on average.

For some individual collection routes that involve reloading costs, transport costs can be as high as 4.8ppl.

MCVE and MMV have been adjusted accordingly. There is no change to AMPE.

If you'd like a copy of the Review of Dairy Market Indicators report please email dairy.mi@ahdb.org.uk

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