U.S. Dairy Exports Drop 25%

U.S. cheese and curd exports for the first quarter were at 54.3 million pounds, or 18.9 million less than the same quarter last year, Brownfield Ag News reports. USDA Foreign Ag Service said Cheddar exports were nearly 56% lower at 6.6 million pounds.

The overall value of U.S. dairy exports for the first quarter was $502.4 million, about half of the total sales in the first quarter last year. Of course, 2008 was a record year for dairy exports.

Processed cheese exports totaled 6.6 million pounds, down 29% while Colby cheese sales were more than 5% higher than the first quarter of 2008 at 366,000 pounds. Butterfat exports dropped 77.4% compared to the first quarter of last year and skim milk powder sales dropped 51.9%.

Four countries accounted for 65% of the total dairy exports in the quarter:

Mexico: 21.9 million pounds, up 21% from 2008

Korea: 5.4 million pounds, down 35%

Canada: 4.4 million pounds, down 19%

Japan: 3.4 million pounds, down 37%

Exports utilize 2.2% of total U.S. cheese production for the quarter.