Milk collections in the UK for the week ending 30 July remained below the seasonal average and fell 1% on the previous week, at 258.8m litres, according to the AHDB.
In recent weeks, the rate of seasonal decline has slowed down slightly. The weekly difference on last year’s figures has now reduced from 9% to 7.6%.
Collections remain down
While the weekly difference is slowing, the total milk collections continue to remain 3.6% down on the three-year average and 1.4% down on the five-year average.
These results mean that the collections for the season to date have reduced by 5.7%, or 285m litres, which is equal to around a week’s supply of milk in the current market state, according to analysis by the commodities trading firm INTL FCStone.
As previously reported in the Irish Farmers Journal, UK milk collections for the year up to the end of June amounted to 7.40bn litres, 1.8% lower than 2015’s figures.
A global trend
Italy’s production levels also fell in June, by 2.7% in comparison with the same month in 2015.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the world’s largest exporter Fonterra also saw milk collections fall by 10% in the same month.