A Dumfriesshire-dairy farmer coupled with an industry report have mounting evidence to suggest there are enormous opportunities for UK milk producers looking to expand.

Richard Walker, a Nuffield Scholar, who has travelled throughout Japan, China and South-east Asia believes there is growing demand for milk on a worldwide scale when many countries are unable to source sufficient supplies.

Furthermore, having spoken with leading global dairy players to understand how dairy consumption is evolving, the ability of domestic supply to meet demand and where future gaps may exist in the region, he says there is huge potential for the UK sector.

“My Nuffield Farming travels have highlighted some of the rapidly advancing pockets of global demand for dairy protein, particularly in the far East and Southeast Asia. However, actually capturing and capitalising on these opportunities is far more complex as there are many challenges and complexities surrounding international dairy trade,” says Richard.

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“Domestic milk production in key regions of growth will lag well behind demand and the dairy deficit will grow, as on-farm technical efficiency and climate are often not conducive to efficient milk production,” he continues.

“This presents a significant opportunity for the British dairy sector, with a near ideal climate and continued on-farm technological and genetic advances working in our favour.”

From his learnings Richard makes several recommendations for driving competition for UK farm gate milk, including investment in processing facilities and building international trade expertise within the industry, as well as the development of a British or Scottish dairy ingredients brand.

Backing up these statements, a new report from Kite Consulting, commissioned by National Milk Records (NMR), Arla and Dairy UK, claims growing global demand for milk and milk products is rising around 2% per year or 18bn kgs of milk.

It added that since the UK officially left the EU in January 2021, UK dairy exports to the EU-27 have fallen, but there is growing evidence to suggest there are enormous opportunities for milk producers looking to expand.

It points out that while dairy consumption may be stable in most Western countries, global demand is such that the entire milk production output from a country like New Zealand is now required.

Futhermore, by 2025, it expects the world dairy market demand growth to require a 28% increase in dairy imports compared to 2019.

Dairy farming in the UK is also a lot more efficient, producing milk with a carbon footprint half of the global average.

The global carbon footprint of milk is around 2.5 kg CO2e per kg milk, while the UK average is around 1.25kg CO2e per kg milk, providing huge opportunities for the sector in this country.

"While major net exporters are facing increased environmental volume constraints, there is the opportunity for the UK, with strong activity in this area, to access significant export growth, if it is allowed to innovate to address carbon emissions and environmental concerns," the report says.

"This will require innovation in the processing sector, to enable UK producers to access growth export markets, and it will require political support for the industry as it transforms and adapts towards a net zero and nature-friendly future."