Milk: Overseas Trade

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) liquid milk and (b) milk powder was (i) imported and (ii) exported in each of the last three years. (291911)

Imports and exports of liquid milk and milk powder are shown in the following tables.

Liquid milk is imported into and exported from the UK in two forms, as raw milk for processing by dairies (Table 1), or as liquid drinking milk (e.g. pasteurised or UHT milk) (Table 2).

Raw milk is only traded across the Irish border, that is raw milk imports come from the Republic of Ireland for processing by dairies in Northern Ireland, and vice versa.

*Table 1: UK imports and exports of raw milk for processing (all trade across the Irish Border)*
	Million litres
	2006	2007	2008
Total imports	33.3	57.1	48.5
Total exports	617.3	537.6	559.2
Source: DARDNI.

*Table 2: UK imports and exports of liquid drinking milk in 2006 to 2008*
	Million litres
	2006	2007	2008
Total imports	84.4	87.7	134.1
Total exports	511.7	423.0	456.9

*Table 3: UK imports and exports of milk* *powder in 2006 to 2008*
	Tonnes
	2006	2007	2008
Total imports	51,387	60,561	65,693
Total exports	96,333	105,186	98,100
Source: HM Revenue and Customs.

Volume 497: debated on Wednesday 14 October 2009