Latest statistics show that per capita liquid milk consumption in the United Kingdom is down by 50 percent since 1974.
According to the Defra Family Food Survey, in 1974, average per capita consumption was 140 litres per year, or 2.7 litres per week.
Fast forward to 2018, per capita consumption of liquid milk has dropped by just under 50 percent compared to 1974.
The AHDB has analysed the figures, highlighting how a similar decline has also affected the United States.
Factors for the decline in both countries include a reduced consumption of ‘host foods’ such as tea, coffee, and breakfast cereals, and the rise in plant-based alternatives.
However, alternative products such as almond and oat milk still only account for 4.6% of volume sales of all milk, the body explains.
It adds that in recent years, there has only been a small reduction to the decline in per capita consumption of liquid cow's milk.
In total, retail sales volumes of cow’s milk in 2019 were down 1.5% compared to 2015, as population growth has helped to boost overall sales.
Despite the gloomy figures, according to Kantar, 98.5% of UK households still buy liquid milk, a figure that has remained largely unchanged in the last few years, AHDB explains.
Initiatives like Februdairy, which is currently underway, celebrates and promotes all things dairy and the work that goes behind the humble glass of milk.
