The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has analysed UK dairy exports in Q4 2025, finding that volumes had grown by 28% to 367,000 tonnes.
This was the third quarter in a row to see exports rise. Shipments to EU countries increased by 68,600 tonnes, and exports to non-EU countries rose by 11,800 tonnes.
According to the data from AHDB, growth was driven by cream and milk (up 56,800 tonnes) as well as cheese (up 7,900 tonnes) and butter (up 3,200 tonnes). Milk powders were up 14,000 tonnes.
AHDB found that exports of yogurt fell by 600 tonnes (down 5.6%), and whey and whey products fell by 1,100 tonnes (down 5.9%). These declines reportedly limited overall growth but did not offset strong results in the key categories.
Nearly 90% of all UK dairy exports went to EU countries in Q4 2025, with Spain experiencing a “notable increase” of 121% to reach 6,700 tonnes. Other notable increases included:
- Ireland: up 26% to 238,600 tonnes
- Netherlands: up 31% to 30,500 tonnes
- France: up 20% to 12,500 tonnes
- Belgium: up 41% to 11,700 tonnes
- Denmark: up 65% to 5,000 tonnes
On the other hand, AHDB observed a 1.5% fall in UK dairy imports (-4,400 tonnes) to 301,700 tonnes in Q4 2025. Imports from EU countries fell by 1.8%, while imports from non-EU partners increased by 53.3% (+900 tonnes).
AHDB said that although exports of yogurt and whey products fell slightly, growing demand for protein‑rich foods “suggests room for renewed export growth” in these categories, and highlighted “strong potential” to expand exports of British speciality cheeses.
