April was another record-breaking month for U.S. dairy product exports, with cheese setting a new monthly record, and butterfat, nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder (NDM/SMP) and low-protein whey all continuing their respective growth streaks.
As a whole, U.S. dairy exports rose 15% year over year in milk solids equivalent terms in April, marking the seventh straight month of year-over-year growth. Year-to-date exports have grown 12% to an impressive 819,822 metric tons. These numbers indicate that while U.S. NDM/SMP is at a price disadvantage to the European Union (EU) and New Zealand, and conflict in the Middle East has caused trade disruptions, these headwinds have done little to dissuade demand for U.S. dairy products. The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) details this data in their latest report.
Cheese, other products have unprecedented growth
From Mexico to South Korea, the Philippines and seemingly everywhere in between, the reach of U.S. dairy product exports in April was far.
Cheese exports set a new monthly record at 64,168 metric tons – a 30% increase from April 2025 and just surpassing last month’s record of 63,435 metric tons. Mexico continued as the preferred destination, with cheese exports up 28% to the region, an additional 4,909 metric tons from the same month last year. South Korea, too, imported more U.S. cheese, up 69% – or 3,758 metric tons – from April 2025. If there were any cautionary cues that might indicate future trouble for the U.S. cheese market, they came from Australia. The country surpassed 3,000 metric tons, but declined 11% in year-over-year volume. This matters because Australia has become one of the strongest markets for U.S. cheese over the last year, and it was the first decline in exports to the country in a while, according to USDEC.
In other dairy product export categories, butterfat sales were up 74% – 6,258 metric tons – year over year; NDM/SMP grew 9% – 4,877 metric tons – year over year; and low-protein whey had its best year-over-year growth of 2026, up 39% to 52,097 metric tons.
Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, much of the butterfat exports were driven through that region. While April’s trade data indicates the dairy product was exported to Saudi Arabia – at 1,747 metric tons, the highest monthly volume in more than a decade – other destinations in the region – namely Bahrain, Qatar and Oman – were virtually nonexistent. Experts suspect shippers are using the port of Jeddah on the West Coast of Saudi Arabia to deliver butter to the region and then transporting it across the country to other destinations.
“This is far from a simple fix, as limited infrastructure has created bottlenecks that are causing delays and dramatically increasing freight costs. … But for the moment, despite immense challenges, the Middle East continues to play a key role in boosting U.S. butter exports,” the USDEC report states.
Another categorical performance to note is NDM/SMP exports to the Philippines. Since January, U.S. prices of this product have risen month after month, causing many markets to seek NDM/SMP from competitors such as the EU and New Zealand. However, U.S. exports to Southeast Asia rose 39% in April, up 4,910 metric tons from the same month a year prior, with shipments to the Philippines more than doubling since 2025. It’s noted that the month’s purchases may have been contracted earlier in the year and likely not sustainable for the future of NDM/SMP to the region as the higher prices will eventually deter U.S. purchases.
NEXT-assisted sales reach 21.4 million pounds
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Export and Trade (NEXT) member cooperatives added 21.4 million pounds to 2026 sales in May.
The program secured 93 contracts in the month with the products going to 18 country destinations across Asia, North America, Middle East-North America, South America and Central America, which will be shipped from now through December.
To date, 563 contracts have been secured in 2026, the equivalent of more than 142 million pounds.
U.S. dairy heifer replacements, embryo exports fumble
After a strong performance for U.S. dairy heifer replacement exports in March, the market collapsed a month later. The total number of animal units to leave U.S. borders fell a staggering 57% to 155 dairy replacement heifers. The North America trading partners vastly contributed to the month’s performance with Canada importing 72% fewer animals, from 105 in March to only 29 in April. Mexico also fell from 121 to 80 animals. Last month, Argentina made a shockingly large purchase of U.S. dairy replacement heifers, only to retreat to more normal quantities in April at 16 animal units. A few more countries entered the market in April with India purchasing 27 animal units and Peru, 3.
April’s volume of U.S. dairy replacement heifers brings the year-to-date total to 771 animal units. Last year at this time, that volume was 459 animal units.
The same story was true for U.S. dairy cattle embryo exports in April, falling 77% from the month prior to 146 units. Most notably, Japan decreased purchases by 70% to 63 units, while Bangladesh and Germany – two countries that imported a combined 319 units in March – imported no U.S. dairy cattle embryos in April. Other countries that purchased embryos included India (27), Honduras (20), Australia (18), Switzerland (10), Italy (5) and Ireland (3).
April’s numbers bring the total year-to-date U.S. dairy embryo exports to 1,173 units, down from 1,619 units over the same period last year.
Forage exports fall in April
Dairy-quality alfalfa hay exports grew by a slim 1% in April to 152,712 metric tons. The key destination of this forage remains in the Asia markets, particularly China, Japan and South Korea. While China increased purchases of U.S. dairy-quality alfalfa hay from 67,685 metric tons in March to 70,729 metric tons in April, the other two countries imported less. A total of 33,140 metric tons of U.S. dairy-quality alfalfa hay was exported to Japan, virtually unchanged from the previous month, and 23,185 metric tons were exported to South Korea, down 10% from March. Shipments to Saudi Arabia continue to decline month after month, with April’s exports being the lowest to date this year at 9,445 metric tons, down from the 35,937 metric tons that started the year.
The total U.S. dairy-quality alfalfa hay exports year to date is at 602,626 metric tons.
Other U.S. hay exports also struggled to perform in April. The month’s total exports reached 78,069 metric tons, down 8% from the month prior. Japan remained the top destination, purchasing 41,228 metric tons of other U.S. hay, down a mere 1% from March. South Korea, the second-largest market for this forage, imported 17% less product for a total of 24,142 metric tons in April. The year-to-date volume of exports of other U.S. hay comes to 322,497 metric tons.
Trade deficit continues to widen
April’s U.S. agricultural trade balance was a deficit of $2.8 billion, up from $1.95 billion the month prior. Exports for the month were recorded at $15.1 billion and imports at $17.9 billion according to the Department of Commerce/Census Bureau.
The fiscal year-to-date (Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026) balance is a deficit of $9.6 billion.
