September 28, 2017

Consumption of skimmed milk in Britain down, whole milk up

Skimmed milk consumption in Britain over the last two years has been falling, while that of whole milk has increased.

According to Kantar Worldpanel, as relayed by AHDB Dairy, skimmed milk sales for the 52 weeks ending July 16, 2017, was 7.4% lower than the same period in 2015. Other low-fat milks also declined, while whole milk sales rose 7.2%.

The year-on-year changes given in the chart below show that the move to whole milk, and away from skimmed, is accelerating.

Semi-skimmed milk continues to be the overwhelming favourite with consumers, accounting for around 60% of overall milk sales. However, British consumers are currently drinking about 2,700 tonnes more butterfat in their milk per year, than they would have done if buying habits hadn't changed over the last two years.

The move is effectively taking butter and cream off the market, and will be adding to the shortage of butter over recent months.

However, the impact on the overall fat market is likely to be small. The extra butterfat consumed in milk equates to about 3,400 tonnes of butter per year. That compares with the 72,000 tonnes of butter that, according to Kantar Worldpanel, British consumers purchased in packet, or block, form in the last year (52 weeks ending July 16, 2017).