GB milk deliveries: April volumes shadow last year’s highs

Key points:

• The new milk year is beginning to show signs of year-on-year stabilisation, although we are comparing against record volumes.
• GB milk deliveries are estimated to have totalled 1,136 million litres in April, down 0.1% year-on-year.
• Daily deliveries averaged 37.86 million litres.

After a record-breaking milk year for GB, with 2025/26 volumes closing at 5% ahead of the previous year, the new 2026/27 season is showing signs of stabilisation.

April milk volumes reduced by a marginal 0.1% year-on-year. The latest week of data available (week ending the 2nd May) saw a 0.6% decline. However, April still sat well-ahead (+3.2%) of the 5-year average. Dairy economics, including the Milk to Feed Price Ratio (MFPR) have generally been favouring expansion with significant pressures building since, although with falling milk prices it has now come down to 1.26 which is in the ‘stabilisation’ zone.

The spring flush peak may have already happened, with peak day recorded on the 4th May in 2025 (we will be able to confirm with the next data release), but high seasonal volumes will continue to top-out processing capacity for the next few weeks.

May milk price announcements were mostly stable, with some increases. The recovery climb appears a much steadier movement than the earlier downturn and could still be impacted by the market downturn in fats seen in April.

As rising input costs are squeezing margins, managing costs and maximising value from forage is essential. Click here for resources to support businesses with falling milk prices.

Figure 1. GB daily milk deliveries (7 day rolling average)

Source: AHDB

Figure 1 is a line chart showing GB daily milk deliveries, using a 7 day rolling average, from 1 April to 31 March. It compares 2026/27, 2025/26 and the five year average (million litres per day).
The vertical axis shows million litres per day, ranging from 29 to 41 million litres. Three lines are shown:
2026/2027 (light blue, short line)
2025/2026 (dark blue, top line)
Five year average (orange, bottom line)

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