According to the Dairy Division of the United Kingdom's Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB Dairy), milk production in the country this year reached 20-year highs every month.

In the UK, milk production increased due to the wider use of purchased feed, a soft start to the year and an increase in calving.

In the first quarter of this year, aggregate production was 3.4% higher than last year. However, due to a shortage of pastures, milk production decreased during most of the dairy year 2018/19 (April-March), which led to an overall increase in annual production of only 1.1%.

Availability of products helped maintain prices in wholesale markets, which in turn supported prices paid to farmers.

On average, in the 2018/19 dairy year, prices paid to farmers remained around 29 pence per liter, slightly higher than the 5-year average of 27.5 pence per liter.

It is argued that the current high level of milk supplies in the UK by some milk processors has led to productivity problems, causing certain short-term balancing problems and potential long-term storage problems.