-
U.S. dairy year-to-date exports up 16%
By USDEC Staff October 6, 2020- Tweet
Core products—NDM/SMP, cheese and whey—make for strong August.
Trade data released Tuesday show that eight months into 2020, the value and volume of U.S. dairy exports continues to grow at a double-digit pace. Volume on a milk solids basis was up 17% compared to last August, putting year-to-date performance up 16%. Value grew by 11% (YTD up 14%).
Most major product categories booked strong gains in August. U.S. suppliers shipped 190,435 tons of milk powder, cheese, whey products, lactose and butterfat—a record for the month. The August increase capped a full year—12 straight months—of year-over-year increases in aggregate U.S. dairy export volume.
In August, the United States’ core categories—NDM/SMP, cheese and whey products—propelled a strong month overall and extended year-to-date gains. Each was fueled by different factors.
Total U.S. NDM/SMP exports rose 35% to 68,798 tons, driven primarily from a doubling of shipments to Southeast Asia, with the aid of competitive pricing and a committed U.S. presence in the region. Total U.S. NDM/SMP exports were up by 17,714 tons; shipments to the six primary markets in Southeast Asia grew 14,288 tons.
Another bright spot: Shipments to China went from virtually nothing in August 2019 (173 tons) to 5,343 tons in August 2020, making it the third largest destination for U.S. milk powder for the month. Our No. 2 market, Mexico, lagged in August, with U.S. NDM/SMP shipments down 15% to 23,754 tons.
Even though U.S. NDM/SMP export volumes have decelerated over the past three months, the latest USDA Dairy Products report shows a decline in August inventories and levels remaining below 2019 comparables after the March and April surge. This suggests the market remains in balance despite weakness in Mexican demand.
Cheese enjoyed a surprisingly strong month: U.S. exports grew 17% to 31,009 tons, with impressive growth across the core U.S. markets. U.S. cheese exports to Mexico rebounded in August with a 29% increase to 8,807 tons, while sales to South Korea (+88%), Japan (+49%) and Australia (+53%) soared.
U.S. cheese export prices were well below May-June U.S. domestic prices, suggesting U.S. exporters accepted lower margins to maintain international relationships.
Other markets, where tourism accounts for larger shares of GDP and cheese consumption – such as Central America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia -- continue to lag in cheese buying. International tourism in most import regions remains significantly restricted by COVID-19.
August whey shipments recorded double-digit gains in all categories with U.S. whey strength almost entirely due to China and its continuing attempts to rebuild its hog herd. Total U.S. whey exports grew 29% in August, an increase of 11,281 tons; U.S. shipments to China for the month jumped 318% or by 17,212 tons.
At +318%, it was a significant month-to-month surge that could be a signal of an increase in U.S. whey market share thanks in part to the Phase I trade agreement. U.S. whey export growth to China should be further supported by China’s move last month to extend a retaliatory tariff exemption on U.S. permeate for animal feed.
The Chinese whey import gain more than made up for declines to other regions, like Southeast Asia (-14%) and Mexico (-60%).
In other products, U.S. butterfat exports rose 4% with gains to Canada, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Lactose volume fell 8% to 29,168 tons, with declines to Mexico (-23%), China (-12%) and South America (-33%).
MPC exports rose 37% and Canada was the top U.S. MPC market. The increase was a hopeful sign that changes to Canada’s Class 7 pricing scheme mandated by the USMCA might be effective in helping U.S. suppliers reestablish business (MPC and ultrafiltered milk were the major U.S. exports affected by Class 7).
To download a printable PDF summary with charts showing August trade data in detail, click here.
Learn more about global dairy markets:- September's Dairy Data Dashboard
-
U.S. dairy export volume up 16% through July
-
August's Dairy Data Dashboard
-
U.S. dairy export volume up 28% in June
-
July's Dairy Data Dashboard
-
U.S. dairy export volume hits 2-year high
Subscribe to the U.S. Dairy Exporter Blog
The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.
10 Most Recent Posts
Most Popular Posts in Past Year
Index of Posts by Topic
- #GotDairyJobs (4)
- About USDEC (42)
- Africa (5)
- Australia (4)
- Blog (8)
- Brazil (4)
- Canada (20)
- Central America (1)
- Cheese (48)
- China (53)
- Common food names (6)
- Company News (10)
- Crisis Management (3)
- Cuba (2)
- Dairy (6)
- Dairy checkoff (6)
- Dairy Ingredients (1)
- Dairy Resources (1)
- Dairy Trends (4)
- Documentation (3)
- EU (23)
- Exports (22)
- Farming (22)
- Food Aid (8)
- Food Safety (8)
- Foodservice (3)
- Free trade agreements (34)
- Geographical Indications (GIs) (9)
- Global Marketing (87)
- Got Jobs? (8)
- Indonesia (1)
- Innovation (16)
- Japan (17)
- Market Access (25)
- Market Conditions (205)
- Member Services (15)
- Mexico (38)
- Middle East (8)
- Middle East & North Africa (3)
- Middle East/North Africa (8)
- Milk (2)
- Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) (2)
- New Zealand (10)
- Next5% (20)
- Nonfat Dry Milk/Skim Milk Powder (8)
- Nutrition (16)
- Product Innovation (3)
- Protein (3)
- Regulations (5)
- Research & Data (255)
- Russia (3)
- Singapore (8)
- South America (6)
- South Korea (8)
- Southeast Asia (21)
- Sustainability (15)
- Technology (2)
- ThinkUSADairy (4)
- TPP (13)
- Traceability (8)
- Trade Barriers (5)
- Trade Data (4)
- Trade Policy (67)
- TTIP (5)
- UHT Milk (7)
- USMCA (1)
- Vietnam (4)
- Whey (5)
- Whey Ingredients (1)
- Whey products (10)
- Whole Milk Powder (WMP) (3)
- World Dairy Expo (1)
- Yogurt (1)
Index of Posts by Date, Author
- March 2015 (12)
- September 2015 (12)
- March 2014 (11)
- April 2015 (11)
- December 2015 (11)
- February 2015 (10)
- October 2015 (10)
- October 2014 (9)
- June 2015 (9)
- July 2015 (9)
- November 2015 (9)
- March 2016 (9)
- October 2019 (9)
- September 2013 (8)
- May 2015 (8)
- August 2015 (8)
- January 2016 (8)
- February 2016 (8)
- March 2017 (8)
- December 2018 (8)
- May 2019 (8)
- December 2019 (8)
- June 2014 (7)
- November 2016 (7)
- May 2017 (7)
- May 2018 (7)
- July 2020 (7)
- July 2016 (6)
- August 2018 (6)
- October 2018 (6)
- November 2018 (6)
- February 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (6)
- August 2019 (6)
- March 2020 (6)
- April 2020 (6)
- June 2020 (6)
- February 2014 (5)
- June 2016 (5)
- August 2016 (5)
- September 2016 (5)
- December 2016 (5)
- February 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (5)
- October 2017 (5)
- January 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (5)
- June 2018 (5)
- July 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (5)
- January 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (5)
- July 2019 (5)
- September 2019 (5)
- November 2019 (5)
- January 2020 (5)
- August 2020 (5)
- October 2020 (5)
- May 2013 (4)
- September 2014 (4)
- April 2016 (4)
- May 2016 (4)
- October 2016 (4)
- January 2017 (4)
- April 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (4)
- August 2017 (4)
- September 2017 (4)
- December 2017 (4)
- February 2018 (4)
- February 2020 (4)
- May 2020 (4)
- November 2017 (3)
- March 2018 (3)
- September 2020 (3)
- December 2020 (3)
- March 2011 (2)
- June 2011 (2)
- September 2011 (2)
- March 2012 (2)
- June 2012 (2)
- July 2012 (2)
- March 2013 (2)
- July 2013 (2)
- November 2020 (2)
- January 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (1)
- April 2010 (1)
- May 2010 (1)
- June 2010 (1)
- July 2010 (1)
- August 2010 (1)
- September 2010 (1)
- October 2010 (1)
- November 2010 (1)
- December 2010 (1)
- January 2011 (1)
- February 2011 (1)
- April 2011 (1)
- May 2011 (1)
- July 2011 (1)
- August 2011 (1)
- October 2011 (1)
- November 2011 (1)
- December 2011 (1)
- January 2012 (1)
- February 2012 (1)
- April 2012 (1)
- August 2012 (1)
- September 2012 (1)
- October 2012 (1)
- November 2012 (1)
- December 2012 (1)
- January 2013 (1)
- February 2013 (1)
- April 2013 (1)
- June 2013 (1)
- August 2013 (1)
- October 2013 (1)
- November 2013 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- January 2014 (1)
- April 2014 (1)
- May 2014 (1)
- January 2021 (1)
- Mark O'Keefe (154)
- Alan Levitt (119)
- USDEC Staff (74)
- Tom Suber (41)
- Margaret Speich (22)
- Marc A.H. Beck (15)
- Angélique Hollister (11)
- Vikki Nicholson-West (10)
- Tom Vilsack (8)
- Jaime Castaneda (7)
- Margaret Speich and Mark O'Keefe (7)
- Matt McKnight (7)
- Ross Christieson (7)
- Véronique Lagrange (7)
- Alan Levitt and Marc Beck (5)
- Shawna Morris (5)
- Brad Gehrke (3)
- Kristi Saitama (3)
- Marilyn Hershey (3)
- USDEC Communications (3)
- Alan Levitt and William Loux (2)
- Jim Mulhern (2)
- Luke Waring (2)
- Merle McNeil (2)
- Amy Foor (1)
- Amy Wagner (1)
- Andrei Mikhalevsky (1)
- Annie Bienvenue (1)
- Brad Scott (1)
- Dalilah Ghazalay (1)
- Dermot Carey (1)
- Errico Auricchio (1)
- Jeremy Travis (1)
- Kara McDonald (1)
- Krysta Harden (1)
- Mitchell Bowling (1)
- Nick Gardner (1)
- Rodrigo Fernandez (1)
- Ross Christieson and Shawna Morris (1)
- Sandra Benson (1)