UK wholesale prices

Updated 18 December 2025

Indicative average prices for butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP) and mild Cheddar cheese on UK wholesale markets. Bulk cream prices are weighted average prices on agreed trades within the reporting period. Product specifications are available to download at the bottom of the page.

Weeks 48–51 (24 November to 21 December 2025)

December has seen a continuation of bearish market sentiment with further substantive falls across all commodities. As with previous months, cream and butter took the force of the blow.

Milk supplies here, in Europe and further afield have seen significant gains, putting further pressure on processing capacity and building up stocks further.

With Christmas now only days away, the traditional pre-Christmas market weakness has contributed to the doldrums. 

Bulk cream prices saw the highest comparative losses, losing a further 25% of their value. Extremely high milk volumes combined with record-breaking solids content in the milk, as well as a series of breakdowns and planned maintenance in factories, meant even more cream was available.

Teamed with the proximity to Christmas, prices have slumped. Although, perhaps not quite as far as some were expecting.

Butter prices continued in a similar vein.  Some processors with churning capacity found it more economic to churn cheap cream rather than come to the butter market, which limited demand.

Conversely, many sellers were seeking to pass on older stock before year-end, which led to some further downforce on prices.

Butter prices declined over the course of the month, starting the period in the low 4000’s but dropping to the mid 3000’s by the end.

The average price for the month was £3,710/t, a decline of 14%. Butter has now lost almost half of its value since the peak. Reports indicate that US butter has also continued to decline in price, retaining the price differential. 

Mild Cheddar continued to decline, although moderately and may have found a level. The average price fell £130/t to £2,830.

Reports indicate that a lot of cheese has been produced and that some of that has been produced for the whey, prices of which seem to be the only remaining buoyant dairy commodity.

Buyer sentiment is mixed - some buyers are hesitant to commit much past Q1, labouring under the conception that prices may fall further whilst others are beginning to seek longer-term commitment.   

SMP prices are described as being in 'a race to the bottom' and eased £70/t month on month, falling throughout the month ending at an average of £1,730/t.

Trade was thin with muted demand, but some opportunistic buyers taking advantage of the low prices. As with the other commodities, there's too much milk and only so much space to process it.

The published prices will not necessarily match the overall actual price achieved by a milk processor as this will depend, among other things, on the proportion of product that is sold on the spot market and the proportion sold under longer term contracts and at what price this is done.

The 'average' prices should be used to track trends while the commentary will contain prices seen through the month.

Note there has been a change in the methodology for determining the bulk cream price from January 2021.

Information on prices and market conditions is gathered through a monthly phone survey of dairy product sellers, traders and buyers.

Panel discussions cover ex-store prices on spot trades agreed within the reporting period and delivered within a maximum of 2 weeks for bulk cream and 6 weeks for butter, SMP or cheese. 

For butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP) and mild Cheddar, prices are indicative of values achieved for spot trades and exclude contracted prices or forward sales.

For bulk cream, a weighted average price will now be reported. This is based on submissions of an average price for agreed spot trades made within the reporting period along with total volumes traded.

Data is entered by panel members via the AHDB online wholesale price portal.

Prices for bulk cream were not weighted by traded volumes prior to January 2021. 

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