The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has said that demand from the EU and the US helped drive UK dairy exports to £1.8 billion in 2024.
More than 76% of the UK’s total dairy exports were shipped to the EU, and were worth £1.4 billion, up 5.6% in 2024.
UK cheese exports hit their highest level since 2020, valued at £887 million, 72% of which were shipments to the EU, an increase of almost 10% on the year before.
Outside of the EU, the US was the next biggest market for dairy exports in 2024, the bulk of which was made up of cheese. In 2024, the UK exported £75 million worth of cheese to the US.
AHDB head of international trade development manager for dairy, Lucy Randolph, said: “UK dairy exports fared well in 2024 against a backdrop of challenging trading conditions which impacted our competitiveness on the global stage.
“The performance of our cheese exports to the EU was particularly encouraging and included an impressive 71.8% increase in value of shipments to Germany worth £48 million”
Randolph said that while trade in Asia also presented challenges in 2024 with tight economic conditions impacting demand, good trade opportunities persisted in countries like Singapore, which have an established UK dairy presence.
Cheese exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) increased by 52.5% to £23.4 million.
In Qatar cheese exports increased by 47.7% to £3.3 million. The AHDB said that this reflects the positive impact of its trade missions and attendance at events like Gulfood, and the Lulu Qatar retail promotion.
Randolph stated: “While the threat of tariffs looms across agri-food products, the industry has successfully weathered tariffs on dairy products to the US in the past, and we remain quietly confident of the value of our quality dairy products to this critical market.
“It’s exciting to explore new markets such as Thailand, identified as a priority market for dairy exporters following the UK Dairy Showcase last autumn, with our first trade presence at Thaifex in May and retail promotions planned for later in the year.”
