Latest AHDB Dairy figures show daily deliveries over the first half of July averaged 37.2m litres/day, which is 4.2m litres/day (10.2%) lower than the same period last year.
During the two weeks prior to this, daily deliveries averaged 38.9m litres/day.
Over the same period, GB daily deliveries averaged 31.0m litres/day and were down 10.8% (3.7m litres/day) on the previous year.
Daily deliveries for this period were 2.2m litres/day (6.7%) lower compared with the three-year average.
The last time that production in the UK fell to such levels was the 2013-14 milk year.
While the figures show that UK farmers have responded to the EU milk price crisis by cutting production levels, data from the rest of the EU shows this has not happened everywhere.
The latest Eurostat figures available show that between May 2015 and May 2016, 16 out of the 28 member states increased milk deliveries.
Cyprus saw the biggest percentage increase (29%), but as a relatively small player in the market this only led to an extra 4m litres of milk.
The five largest milk producing members are France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK, which together account for 62% of total EU production.
Over the May 2015 to May 2016 period, production fell by 4.8% in the UK and 1.8% in France.
However, production rose by 1.1% in Germany, 2.1% in Poland and 8.3% in the Netherlands.
The EU announced plans last week to incentivise a reduction in milk production.
It is possible that farmers could be paid 12p/litre to cut production for a period of three months.
Source: FarmersWeekly
Link: http://www.fwi.co.uk/business/uk-milk-production-10-percent-lower-than-a-year-ago.htm
