U.S. dairy production keeps going higher and processing facilities are running at or even over capacity, so the need for growing exports has never been greater. Farm Journal’s milk business dot com reports that dairy exports topped year-ago levels once again for the eleventh straight month. Exports of products like milk powder, cheese, butterfat, whey, and lactose were up 12 percent over last April. The value of exports was 23 percent higher than last year, totaling $461 million in sales. The Export Council says the export levels of nonfat dry milk and skim milk powder, whey products, and lactose was at record highs over the first four months of 2017. Among the top export markets, sales to China and Southeast Asia were up 91 percent and 23 percent respectively. Japan sales were the highest they’ve been in 21 months. Cheese exports were 27 percent higher than April of 2016. The USDEC predicts that cheese sales will continue to grow in Australia, which will pass Japan soon as the third-highest export market for cheese.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.