Trade sanctions, Russia’s retaliation and the European Union removing dairy quotas have combined to increase overall world milk production.

Export graph

This has kept world dairy markets very competitive. Cooperatives Working Together’s (CWT) export assistance program continues to help member cooperatives make export sales of U.S. dairy products in key world markets.

In the third quarter of 2015, 122 offers for export assistance were accepted out of the 284 requests submitted by members. This resulted in sales contracts for 10.9 million pounds of Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheeses, 7.2 million pounds of butter and 15.2 million pounds of whole milk powder.

Combined with the sales contracts made in the first six months of 2015, total product sales are 47 million pounds of cheese, 26 million pounds of butter and 36 million pounds of whole milk powder. That is the milkfat equivalent of nearly 1.3 billion pounds of milk.

Asian customers continue to be the primary destination for 2015 CWT-assisted cheese sales, receiving 69 percent of those exports. Japan accounts for 75 percent of the cheese sales to Asia. The Middle East is next at 17 percent.

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Export percentages

When it comes to butter sales in the first nine months of 2015, 74 percent of the export-assisted products are going to the Middle East. Saudi Arabia will receive the majority (79 percent) of the butter headed to the Middle East.

Asia is the destination for 52 percent of the whole milk powder sales, with Central and South America next at 36 percent.  

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) provided the content on this page. CWT was designed by America’s dairy farmers to benefit all U.S. dairy farmers. It is a voluntary, producer-funded program developed by National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) to strengthen and stabilize producer prices. Participating producers contribute four cents per hundredweight of milk produced to fund the program. For membership information go to their website.