United Kingdom milk prices and composition of milk – statistics notice (data for January 2026)
Updated 26 February 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-milk-prices-and-composition-of-milk/united-kingdom-milk-prices-and-composition-of-milk-statistics-notice-data-for-january-2026
Minor revisions have been made to milk price data from January 2024 onwards, to reflect an adjustment to exclude retrospective bonus payments for Northern Ireland, in line with how data is reported for all other UK countries. Data excluding retrospective bonus payments for Northern Ireland is not available prior to this date, and so UK prices prior to January 2024 still include retrospective bonus payments for Northern Ireland only.
1.1 Key messages
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This release shows the latest information on average farm-gate milk prices, volumes and the butterfat and protein content of UK produced milk.
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The UK average farm-gate milk price for January 2026 is 37.75 pence per litre (ppl). This represents a 5.2% (2.1 ppl) decrease on December 2025 and an 18% decrease on January 2025 (Figure 1.2).
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Butterfat content stayed the same as last month at 4.45%. Compared to last year, butterfat content is 1.1% higher than January 2025 (Figure 1.3a).
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Protein content decreased 0.5% from last month at 3.53%. Compared to last year, protein content is 3.3% higher than January 2025 (Figure 1.3b).
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Milk volumes in January 2026 were 1,330 million litres, they have decreased 0.9% on December 2025 and increased 4.1% on January 2025 (Figure 1.4).
1.2 United Kingdom farm-gate milk price (pence per litre)
1.3 Average butterfat and protein content of United Kingdom produced milk
1.3a. Butterfat %
1.3b. Protein %
1.4 United Kingdom wholesale milk production (million litres)
1.5 Percentage change in key items: January 2026 compared to January 2025
| Item | Percentage change |
|---|---|
| Milk price | -17.8 |
| Milk volume | 4.1 |
| Butterfat | 1.1 |
| Protein | 3.3 |
1.6 Trends
Figures 1.2 to 1.4 above show the values for the latest 12 months along with the five year average, maximum and minimum monthly values.
1.7 Retrospective payments
Some companies make retrospective bonus payments. With the exception of Northern Ireland data prior to 2024, where data excluding retrospective bonus payments is not available, we do not reflect these payments in the monthly milk price figures. For example, the annual average price for farm-gate milk in 2019, including retrospective payments, is 29.10 ppl, 0.23 ppl more than the annual average price without retrospective payments (28.87 ppl). In 2019 total retrospective payments were 2.0% lower than 2018 at £34.7 million.
A retrospective payment is when a company makes a payment to a farmer that is outside the normal contract price they receive and is generally paid on prior production, for example profit sharing.
1.8 Revisions and estimates
England and Wales survey response in January 2026 was 92%. Data for missing respondents is estimated based off of previous returns and trends for the rest of the respondents.
In the July 2025 publication, Northern Ireland have provided price data excluding retrospective bonus payments back to January 2024. This has led to minor revisions of at most 0.2% for UK milk prices across this period since retrospective bonus payments were previously included in Northern Ireland figures.
1.9 Accredited official status
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2014. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details below). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
1.10 Contact details
The next update of this monthly notice is at 09:30 on Thursday, 26 March 2026.
Enquiries to: Livestock statistics team
Email: livestock.statistics@defra.gov.uk
Public enquiries: +44 (0) 2080 266306
For media queries betwen 9am and 6pm on weekdays: Tel: 0330 041 6560 Email: newsdesk@defra.gov.uk