Strong demand from Europe helped the total value of UK dairy exports in the first half of 2025 to reach £1.1 billion.
This is an increase of 20% on the same period last year, new figures from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) show.
UK exports to Ireland were £335 million in the first six months of 2025, up 12.5% on last year.
The value of shipments to the Netherlands was up 15% on the year previous to £130 million, while dairy exports to France (up 41% to £82 million), Spain (up 40% to £35 million) and Germany (up 25% to £32 million) were also highlights for the period.
Dairy exports to the US, Asia and the Middle East also performed well.
The value of shipments to the US increased 30% on the year to £43 million while values to Asia and Oceania were up 22% at £73 million.
‘Encouraging’
In Q2 specifically, UK dairy exports to Ireland increased by 7% to 251,000t.
According to the AHDB, the EU was the main export destination in Q2, with approximately 90% of total UK exports heading there.
Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain and Germany were the major recipients.
Exports of dairy products to the EU increased by 21,100t in Q2, reaching a total volume of 370,400t, while exports to non-EU nations increased by 12,000t.
Lucy Randolph, AHDB head of international trade development (dairy), said the export figures for the first half of this year are “very encouraging in EU and non-EU markets”.
