British farm minister Jim Paice has called for more investment in dairy processing to boost exports of UK products.

Speaking at World Milk Day on Monday (May 31), Paice criticised the price gap between farmgate and processed milk as too wide and said that more investment was needed in processing to help promote British dairy products.

With more than 700 named British cheeses and many international award-winning cheeses made in UK, Paice hoped that the industry will make even more of Britain's finest dairy products and send them to the world.

"The UK has one of the most competitive dairy industries in the world. We need to help the dairy industry invest in processing, so that we can become a net exporter of all dairy products," he said.

At the moment, the UK imports a significant quantity of high-quality cheeses and other dairy products, which could be just as effectively produced in the country, he added.