US butter exports to EU fall

This is evident from the latest export data from the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). In October, 1.655 tons of American butter and butteroil were shipped to the EU, primarily to the Netherlands. In contrast, during the first ten months of last year, over 12.000 tons of American milk fat were shipped to Europe. By comparison, in all of 2024, this was only 306 tons, almost forty times less.

The sharply increased flow of American milk fat to Europe has two causes. First, the price difference. American product is much cheaper than the European supply. This situation remains the same. 

The second cause is the changed trade relationship between the US and the EU, in which there are fewer mutual barriers due to the actions of US President Donald Trump.

The American product, due to its different composition and also a difference in quality, is not suitable for retail sale. Therefore, it's not available in supermarkets, but it is readily acceptable for several large industrial processors. The same applies to AMF/butter oil.  

Incidentally, a large portion of American butter and butteroil enters the EU without incurring significant import duties. This isn't Trump's doing, but rather because the product enters the EU under the "inward processing regime," where import and export volumes are traded off against each other, and there's no net import (from a regulatory perspective). This "fiction" also makes it difficult to obtain hard figures on volumes.

The fact that the regular price of butter in the US is significantly lower than in the EU doesn't prevent tens of thousands of tons of high-quality Irish butter from still being shipped to the US. American consumers remain willing to pay a premium for it.