EU dairy market Q4 2025 reported rising milk deliveries & shifting powder stocks

EU – The European Union’s dairy sector reported that milk deliveries in the EU increased by 5.5% in the fourth quarter year-on-year, which increased the production of dairy products, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

This, coupled with higher imports, added to available supplies of butter and SMP. Stocks of WMP were lower following lower production and imports.

Total dairy exports from the continent increased by 9.9% in the fourth quarter year-on-year due to competitive prices.

The increase in exports was mainly reported to MENA (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and Asia, including Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, India and Pakistan.

However, demand from China, one of the major importers of dairy, remained on the lower side.

Butter

The increase in available butter supplies in Q4 was driven by higher production and imports. Incredible milk volumes in the second half of the year boosted production.

Butter exports increased 8% year-on-year due to being competitive in the global market.

Overall, available supplies of butter increased 10.9% (48,000 tonnes) in the fourth quarter year-on-year.

Cheese

Cheese stocks stabilised in the fourth quarter year-on-year after increasing in the second and third quarter. Although production and imports increased during the period, robust exports limited the overall available supplies.

Export demand picked up from MENA countries, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China.

Available supplies of cheese increased marginally by 0.1% (1,000 tonnes) in the fourth quarter year-on-year.

SMP stocks grew while WMP fell

Availability of SMP supplies increased by 4.5% year-on-year in Q4 2025. Production and imports increased by 21.7% and 8.8%, respectively.

Higher milk production resulted in production of longer shelf-life products.

Exports were significantly higher by 39.9% year-on-year. They increased mainly to MENA countries (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia) and Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.

WMP production declined marginally year-on-year with processors using more milk for butter and SMP production.

Exports increased during the period to MENA and Asian nations including Singapore, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Available supplies declined by 11.1% (8,800 tonnes) following slightly lower production and imports, with higher exports, which dragged down the overall supplies of milk powders.

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