US dairy exports are booming

Things have been going fast, especially in the last few months. In June, the US exported 206.000 tons, a whopping 28% more than in 2019. Export figures have not been this high since April 2018. Cheese exports even achieved a sales record of 38.427 tons. According to the American Dairy Export Federation (USDEC), this is due to the low cheese prices in April, as a result of the corona crisis.

Meanwhile, American cheese prices have plummeted in no time record level. This is partly due to good exports and high domestic consumption. American cheese is sold especially well in neighboring Mexico, South Korea and China.

Exports of skimmed milk powder (including non-fat dry milk) amounted to 75.000 tons in June, which is just short of a record. Compared to the same month last year, sales were only three quarters higher. Mexico is also a major buyer here, while some Asian countries also imported significantly more volume.

Whey powder is in great demand in China
Much more whey powder is also shipped, with American exporters being a formidable competitor in Europe. In June 44.000 tons were sold, 8% more than last year. China in particular is buying much more whey powder as feed raw material for the pig herd that is recovering after being decimated by African swine fever. Sales are being helped by the trade agreement that the US and China signed at the beginning of this year.

The export figures are also excellent over a longer period. In the first 6 months of this year, the US exported 1,14 million tons, 13% more than last year but at the same time a fraction less than in the same period in 2018. The underlying value also increased by 13% to 3,3 billion .

The effect of the weakened dollar has not played a role in recent months, but will help exports in the second half of 2020. Dutch dairy companies are already complaining about the strong euro, which rose from $1,12 to $1,18 in recent weeks.