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Strong recovery in United States dairy exports
US dairy exports picked up strongly in July, especially to Asia, and are recovering from the downturn that took place up to and including last spring. Whey powder, lactose and cheese also did very well. The export of milk powders continues to be disappointing, just like that of the higher WPCs.
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This turns out from figures of the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). The value of American dairy exports increased sharply in the first seven months of this year. This was influenced by the sharp rise in dairy prices worldwide. However, the export volume also increased. This was about 2022% higher in the first seven months of 3 than in the same period of 2021 and amounted to 1,47 million tonnes.
Milk powder exports remain at min
The figures could have been even better if there had not been so many problems in logistics. The sharply increased energy prices have also had an influence. As a result, significantly less milk powder (NFDM/SMP) was produced. According to the USDEC, this is 67.500 tons less than in the first seven months of 2021. However, milk powders remain the largest export product in the dairy industry with a total export volume of almost 491.000 tons.
Chinese pig herd
Export growth mainly came from whey and lactose. This started to pick up strongly from April onwards. The export of whey in particular had suffered greatly from weak Chinese demand in the previous period, but with the recovery of the Chinese pig herd, demand for whey also picked up considerably again. There was also more demand for whey and lactose from the rest of Southeast Asia and South America. However, things did not improve with all whey products. Exports of (expensive) WPC 80 and higher suffered a significant blow, mainly due to a sharp drop in demand from the United Kingdom and China.
Mexico remains the largest cheese buyer
Cheese exports fell slightly in July, but were almost 15% higher in the first seven months of the year than in the same period last year. The largest importer of American cheese is and remains by far Mexico. This will be followed by other countries in Central America and the Caribbean and South Korea. A total of 267.000 tons of cheese have been exported up to and including July.