PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(9 March 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her department holds on the profit margins for producers, processors and retailers at each stage in the milk supply chain.

Asked by:
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat)

The UK dairy industry is a resilient and dynamic sector operating in an open market where profit margins are established by the interaction of those in supply chains including farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers.

Defra does not collect or hold information on profit margins for individual businesses at any stage of the milk supply chain. Defra does, however, work closely with dairy sector supply chains to monitor the dairy market via engagement with industry stakeholders and through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group.

Defra publishes information for England on the cost of production of milk in the Defra Farm Business Survey, and gross margins for dairy enterprises in England in Table 14.2 of Farm Business Survey Farm Accounts for England.

Answered by:
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