Growth in milk deliveries continues into January

Thursday, 16 February 2023

GB milk production was estimated at 1,043 million litres in January, slightly up on forecasted deliveries and 2.7% more (27.3m litres) than the same month last year. Daily deliveries averaged 33.63m litres per day in the month.

The year-on-year growth is a continuation of the growth trend we’ve seen since September.  The high farmgate prices in the latter part of 2022, and the resulting favourable milk-to-feed ratio, encouraged production through the winter.

Despite the recorded year on year growth, GB production has been roughly in-line with the 5-year average in the past couple of months. In January, monthly deliveries were just 0.2% (1.8 million litres) higher than the 5-year average for January.

So while milk production is not necessarily high from a historical perspective, high consumer and wholesale prices have chipped away at demand, leading to the current market imbalance and downward price pressure.  

For an insight into potential trends in the coming months, take a look at our winter dairy market outlook.

Graph showing GB daily milk deliveries with latest forecast

Image of staff member Tom Price

Tom Price

Retail and Consumer Insight Analyst

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