US dairy exports experienced a 7% decline in 2023 due to weak demand and increased competition, with only high-protein whey, lactose, and condensed milk showing positive growth. The US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) remains cautiously optimistic for the future, despite global conflicts and trade restrictions. Demand from Mexico helped offset slower exports to other major destinations like China, where consumer and investor confidence is low. The USDEC predicts China's dairy imports will remain flat in 2024 due to self-sufficiency goals, but shifts towards cheese, dairy fats, and specialty ingredients could provide future opportunities for US dairy. The USDEC also anticipates continued competition from the EU and New Zealand, but expects less aggressive pricing from these regions.
Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.
Original content
US dairy exports slumped 7% in 2023 due to weak demand and increased competition across the board, with just high-protein whey (WPC80+ exports increased 18%), lactose (+5%) and condensed milk (+7%) recording a positive change compared to 2022. Skim milk powder, cheese, infant formula and fluid milk/cream all recorded low to mid single-digit decline during 2023, but commodities such as butterfat (-55%), whole milk powder (-33%), whey and casein (both -20%) saw sharper annual declines. SMP exports largely suffered on the back of weak demand from South East Asia, which more than offset strong NFDM exports to Mexico. In cheese, weaker demand from Japan and Korea and increased competition from the EU and New Zealand contributed to the decrease in US cheese sales, even if the volume of cheese exports in 2023 was the second highest on record shipped in a single year, according to USDEC. The dip in lower-protein whey exports was also largely caused by challenges in the Chinese market, ...
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