IN Brief:
- UK dairies processed 1,158.8 million litres of milk in September 2026, down 1.2% from August.
- Cheese production fell 4.7% to 38,800 tonnes, while liquid milk output increased by 0.3%.
- The rolling 12-month cheese output average held at 43,500 tonnes; the September statistics remain provisional.
UK dairies handled 1,158.8 million litres of milk in September 2026, a decline of 1.2% from the previous month, according to updated figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Monthly cheese and butter production also fell, while liquid milk output increased slightly. The figures were updated on 5 November and provide a breakdown of how milk is used across the UK dairy processing industry.
Milk available to processors fell from 1,172.5 million litres in August to 1,158.8 million litres in September. Liquid milk production moved in the other direction, increasing by 0.3% from 479.2 million litres to 480.7 million litres. The difference reflects the separate monthly movements in raw milk intake and the volumes directed to different uses rather than a uniform decline across every processing category.
Cheese output declined from an estimated 40,700 tonnes to 38,800 tonnes, a reduction of 4.7%, while butter production fell from 14,500 tonnes to 14,300 tonnes, or 1.3%. These figures measure production rather than sales. They establish what dairies manufactured during the reporting period without identifying changes in consumer demand, inventory accumulation or individual customer contracts.
Cheddar remained the dominant UK cheese category, accounting for 71% of overall cheese production in September. Defra’s milk-utilisation breakdown records 256.7 million litres allocated to cheddar compared with 269.2 million litres in August. It also records 18.1 million litres for long-life territorial cheeses, 6.0 million for short-life territorials, 7.6 million for blue-veined cheeses and 73.8 million for other cheeses.
Defra’s cheese-type table records the milk used in manufacturing rather than the weight of the finished cheese. Converting those volumes to estimated product output requires separate factors: the published reference is 9.5 litres per kilogram of cheddar, compared with 9.2 litres for long-life territorial cheese and 8.1 litres for short-life territorial varieties. Milk composition and plant processes can alter yields, so the reference factors are averages.
The rolling 12-month averages show considerably less movement. Average milk availability stood at 1,260.4 million litres in the 12 months to September, against 1,262.4 million litres in the preceding calculation, a 0.2% decline. Cheese production remained at a rolling monthly average of 43,500 tonnes when rounded to the published precision. September’s sharper monthly fall therefore sits alongside relatively stable longer-term cheese output.
Liquid milk’s rolling monthly average eased from 493.9 million litres to 492.6 million litres, while butter’s declined from 17,000 tonnes to 16,900 tonnes. Both changes were small relative to the month-on-month reduction in cheese production. Rolling measures incorporate the most recent month and remove the oldest, limiting the influence of short-lived fluctuations while showing the direction of output over a longer period.
Defra’s statistical series is built from surveys of dairies and uses estimated output for some products. In England and Wales, its monthly survey covers the 33 largest dairies, supplemented by 20 businesses surveyed quarterly. Together these operations account for about 90% of milk available for processing, with results scaled to estimate the total. UK figures combine England and Wales with information from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The release contains revisions and estimates that affect comparisons with earlier data. Northern Ireland’s 2026 figures remain estimated, while actual figures for 2025 have replaced earlier Northern Ireland estimates, prompting revisions back to January of that year. Some dairy returns are also estimated pending clarification. Defra accordingly labels the latest data provisional and says further validated returns may result in additional revisions.
Dairies allocate milk among drinking products, cheese, butter and other uses according to their available supplies, processing capacity and production schedules. Different products also use different proportions and components of milk. Defra’s national aggregates capture the quantities processed in each reported category, but the tables do not identify the plant-level decisions, sales contracts or operating constraints responsible for September’s product mix.
Milk powder production is omitted from the published monthly chart and table because Defra identified potential disclosure issues. The missing figures limit any attempt to reconcile every litre of available milk directly with the displayed product categories. The disclosure restriction concerns publication of the series, and provides no evidence about whether individual powder plants increased or reduced production during September.
Defra uses the utilisation data alongside farmgate milk prices to assess how the UK dairy market is developing, including changes in domestic production across product types. Its next scheduled update is due at 09:30 on 3 December 2026. September’s figures show a 1.2% reduction in milk processed, a larger monthly fall in cheese output, and little movement in the longer-term cheese average.
