Dairy industry in the United Kingdom

Price of milk in the UK from 1990 to 2019, both each month and the two-year average. Values are in 2019 prices[1]

In Europe, UK milk production is third after France & Germany and is around the tenth highest in the world. There are around 12,000 dairy farms in the UK.[2]

Around 14 billion litres of milk are commercially produced in the UK each year.

Britain eats around 2000 tonnes of cheese a day.

• Arla Aylesbury, produces 10% of the UK's milk, and the world's largest milk production site

• Davidstow Creamery, Britain's largest cheese factory, producing Cathedral City cheddar cheese

Only 3% of milk in the UK is delivered to the door. There was an 80% drop in deliveries when supermarkets began to sell their own milk en-masse. The largest commercial deliverer of milk in the UK has around 500,000 customers; there has been a recent upswing in demand for door deliveries.

Production was regulated by the Milk Marketing Board until 1994; its processing division is now Dairy Crest. AHDB Dairy is a central resource for the UK dairy industry.

• NFU
• RSPCA